The Scarlet Reaper
by bluedragon03
Summary: Reapers are the fearsome and bloody race of the Heavens that subject humans to the Fate's justice. They are fearfully worshiped by the five kingdoms as part man, part god. The most celebrated and feared of The Reapers is known as The Scarlet Reaper. There is one, however, said to be her match, known as Heaven's Rebel. She is to be his executioner, but perhaps nothing is as it seems
1. Heaven's Rebel

***A/N- Alright! I've been working on this one for ages, and I hope you like it! I took a few liberties with the personalities because growing up in a different setting would have changed their personalities, at least a little. If you have any questions feel free to ask in my inbox, a review, or on my tumblr neverticklethissleepingdragon.**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail.**

 _Reapers are the fearsome and bloody race of the Heavens that subject humans to the Fate's justice. They are fearfully worshipped by the five kingdoms as part man, part god. Sent from their own realm to the human world as harbingers of death and righteousness they kill and collect souls for the Fates, the only force they answer too._

 _The humans don't know much about the Reapers. Their existence is shrouded in a mist of blood and fear. Even so, there are certain Reapers celebrated and famous even among the humans. Their kills are distinguished from one another by their signatures. The most feared and admired symbol is a handkerchief that as black as night, save a small scarlet skull embroidered in the corner. This is the mark of the Scarlet Reaper, who is said to have long, scarlet hair which stains the sky behind her like the blood of her victims stained the ground. Both beautiful and terrifying, she is renowned even in the Reaper world as the best, most capable warrior and servant of the fates._

 _There is another, however, one who is said to be her match. The people call him Heaven's Rebel, for he committed a grave and treasonous act upon his own kind, then escaped from the Scarlet Reaper, who was to be his executioner. He continued to kill, without Heaven's blessing, leaving a single scarlet S, written in the blood of his victims, as his signature._

x x x

 _Heaven's Rebel_

 _X x x_

Jellal crouched over his victim and dipped his first two fingers into the pooled blood, then stood and traced the single S that served as his signature. He smiled to himself, then froze as a terrifyingly familiar voice rang out behind him.

"Jellal!" It said. Jellal took a breath to compose himself, then turned to face the speaker.

His heart twisted when his eyes landed on her. He couldn't help it. He kept forgetting how beautiful she was until she was right in front of him. She was standing in the entrance of his alleyway. There was a slight breeze, rustling her clothing and hair, which painted the night sky behind her like blood. The moon was at her back, lighting her up like a dark angel, or some sort of demon.

"Erza," he said, amazed when his voice came out calm and confident. "It's been a while."

She had her scythe at the ready, it's blade so black it practically melted into the night. The only thing letting him know it was there was the moonlight glistening menacingly off it's blade. The scythe was her weapon of choice, and it was the only one he could see on her right now, although he didn't doubt she had at least a dozen others hidden on her.

"You're coming with me," she declared. Her voice rang clearly through the night, filling the still air with her fury. Jellal instinctively reached for the staff at his back, his weapon of choice. He knew he only had three options here: comply, be killed, or fight her off. He reminded himself that he'd done it once, escaped from her. He, like she, was a force to be reckoned with. He may not have as much natural talent as she did, but years of training had made him equally as skilled.

"I have no intention of coming quietly, Erza," he said.

"I know."

Erza tarried no more. She lunged at Jellal, scythe raised. Her black cloak and blade blended in nearly perfectly with the shadows of the alley, and if it hadn't been for the metal flashing in the moonlight he would have been cut in half. He leapt into the air, above the deadly edge of Erza's scythe and landed on the roof of the building behind him. He removed his staff from its place on his back and twirled it in his hand, listening to the comforting sounds of it swishing through the air.

His battle staff was heavy, made completely of Reaper Metal, the same material of Erza's scythe. She leapt after him without hesitation, slashing furiously. Jellal thrust his staff between himself and the blade of Erza's scythe. The weapons clanged and flashed when they hit, lighting the darkness briefly. Reaper Metal had special qualities that made it very durable, or else Jellal's staff would have snapped under Erza's assault.

"Running like a coward?" Erza taunted.

"Ridiculous," he replied. Jellal attacked first this time, swinging at Erza's feet with one hand while reaching into his cloak for one of his throwing daggers with the other.

When Erza leapt over his attack he flung the dagger at her. She rolled in the air and the dagger went sailing past her and clanked to the ground somewhere out of sight. When her body turned back around to face him there was a dagger in her hand as well, it sailed through the air directly at his head. He managed to avoid it, but only just. Erza was moving again the second her toes touched the ground. She lunged at Jellal, her scythe held at the ready.

A weighted chain came out of nowhere and slammed into Jellal's nose. He grunted in pain, but kept his eyes on the Scarlet Reaper. Erza stood in a half crouch, her scythe held out in front of her with the blade low to the ground. Jellal lowered himself into a ready position, not watching her weapon, but her body, waiting for the tells he knew so well. Knowing what was coming wouldn't be of much aid to him, however. Erza's movements were lightning quick. _There!_ Her shoulders tensed, and Jellal leapt into action. He jumped back, narrowly avoiding a strike to the face with the scythe's handle, and flung a dagger at Erza's head. She jerked her head to the side, the blade skimming across her cheek.

Erza didn't react as blood began to trickle from the wound. She swung at his knees, but when he leapt into the air her free hand flung something at him. He swore as he recognized the weighted chain glinting through the air. He tried to and failed to evade it. The chain wrapped around his knees, and when Erza yanked her end he crashed onto the roof. His staff clattered to the ground next to him and he cursed. The weighted chain was Erza's secondary weapon, why hadn't he been expecting that attack? He cursed himself for letting who he was fighting affect his mental state.

The flashing of the scythe's handle was the only warning he got before the butt of her scythe slammed into the tiles where his head had been. A blow like that might have crushed his skull. He wouldn't put it past Erza to kill him like that, before even taking him back to their world. _What a way to die,_ he thought, _hated as a traitor, banished to the human world. Killed by my best friend._ Jellal finally managed to roll to his feet, seizing his staff from where it had fallen and cast Erza's chain to the side.

Erza flicked her wrist and the chain disappeared beneath her cloak again. Jellal had never been able to fathom how she'd gained such mastery of the chain. He lunged, jabbing the butt of his staff directly at Erza's face, but she dodged and swung her scythe up through his blind spot so that the handle slammed into his jaw from below. Jellal's teeth slammed together as he was sent flying back across the rooftop. The wind rushed out of him when his back slammed against the chimney. His vision blurred from impact so he didn't see Erza swinging her scythe handle.

Her attack struck him on the brow, knocking him off balance and sending him tumbling off the roof. He landed painfully on his shoulder, but used his momentum to roll onto his back, reach into his cloak, and fling a dagger at the woman plunging through the air at him. His quick action caught her off guard, and the dagger struck her in the shoulder, sinking hilt deep into her flesh. She cried out in pain, falling off course and losing her footing. She twisted so she didn't hit the ground on her injured shoulder, though she still groaned. Jellal struggled to his feet as Erza sat up and ripped the knife out of her skin. They stood at the same time, each bleeding from their own wound.

Heaven's Rebel and The Scarlet Reaper stood twenty feet away from each other, locked in a face off. Erza's face was painted with hatred in every sense of the word, but Jellal's face was a mask of sadness and remorse. It wasn't the face of a man locked in battle.

"I'm going to kill you, Jellal," Erza said.

"I don't think so."

"That's what all my other victims said."

"I'm not like your other victims," Jellal replied.

"That's true," Erza commented. "You are more powerful than most of my opponents. Very few people have ever managed to draw my blood." Erza indicated her two bleeding wounds.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Erza," he said quietly.

"Then you shouldn't have killed the Prince," Erza snapped, her fury growing.

Outlined against the moon like she was, Erza very much resembled a demon. Her hair glowed almost evilly, and her dark cloak accompanied by her midnight scythe only added to the terror of her appearance. Blood flowed freely from her shoulder wound, and she made no move to stop it. It ran down her arm in rivulets, staining her skin and dripping onto the ground at her feet. The Scarlet Reaper tensed, then launched into battle again.

Heaven's Fist sprung into action as well. He whipped his staff up to block her attack, spinning on the spot when a dagger flew at his neck. His upper body swung low and his foot kicked high, knocking the dagger out of her hand. Erza kicked furiously at Jellal's head. Jellal dodged and jabbed his staff at her stomach. His staff hit the soft spot under her ribs and he heard the air rush out of her. She stumbled back, coughing and gasping painfully.

Jellal threw another dagger, but by the time it reached it's destination, she was gone. She stepped to the side and leapt back at Jellal, her chain making an appearance once more. All Reapers were required to train with a primary and secondary weapon. Although Erza was famous for being proficient with almost every weapon imaginable, she favored the weighted chain as her secondary. Jellal knocked the chain away with his arm, and in his distraction almost missed the real attack. The chain had only been a ruse.

A small needle, barely visible, sliced through the air. It was undoubtedly coated in poison, although it was probably just a paralytic. She would want to take him back alive for a public execution. No doubt if that happened he wouldn't be able to escape again. He would probably be kept drugged and under constant supervision until the big day just to be sure. They would want to make a fanfare out of his death, a warning to any who would dare disobey the Grim. Jellal knocked Erza's real attack out of the air with the back of his fist.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Erza!" Jellal cried.

"I know enough about the situation," Erza replied, "I have been briefed, and even viewed the body before cremation." It was customary to cremate Reaper bodies, but right now Jellal couldn't get over how _convenient_ that was for his accusers. They'd burned the body, and with it any hope Jellal had for exoneration.

"I'm sure they let you see the body," he said. Swinging his staff down vertically. Erza blocked with the blade of her scythe. Jellal bared down harder, using all his strength. Erza grit her teeth and placed one hand on the back of her blade and began to push back. She was surprisingly strong for a woman with such a slight build, but then again she was Erza, so maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. "But only after they gave it a good cleaning and removed all the evidence of what really happened _._ "

"Are you trying to tell me you're innocent?" The Scarlet Reaper asked, her voice somewhere between rage and incredulity. "You claim that you were framed?" Erza gave an almighty shove to her scythe and forced Jellal back. He jumped several feet away to regain his composure.

"I'm saying the situation isn't as simple as they would have you believe."

"So you admit you killed His Lordship the Snow Reaper?" She asked, her voice loud and commanding. Jellal couldn't imagine what the resident's of the homes around them were thinking, but if the commotion had woken anyone they weren't stupid enough to show their faces.

"You really have a one track mind, don't you, Erza?" Jellal asked. "The world isn't as black and white as you think. The Grim isn't the benevolent ruler he would have you believe he is."

"You dare speak ill of the Grim?" Erza cried, outraged at Jellal's disrespect to her ruler. "Do you have another crime you wish to add to the list that will be read at your execution? Treason, murder, resisting arrest, and now blasphemy." Jellal laughed harshly.

"Only a tyrant and dictator calls the truth blasphemy. You're so blindly loyal to that monster that you don't see what is right in front of you!"

"And what's that?" Erza asked, bringing her scythe around so it's blade was parallel with the ground.

"That the Prince was corrupt! Like his grandfather the Grim!"

"How dare you speak of the royal family like that?" Erza screamed, leaping into action, unable to hold back her rage any longer.

Jellal could barely fend off her attacks. If he had thought she was strong before, that was nothing compared to how Erza fought now, with her rage fueling her. Each attack was stronger than the last, and Jellal could barely defend himself, much less make his own attack. He was breathing heavily now, and he knew that if he didn't make his escape soon he wouldn't be able to escape at all. Erza would have him. He still wanted to plead his case with her. If he managed to win her over to his side then he might have a hope of winning the war he was planning on starting.

That was the reason he'd been calling her out with every kill he made since his banishment. He wanted to raise her ire and get her attention. He knew that if he called her out she would come for him, and if she came for him then he would have a chance to talk to her. But every day she remained with the Grim made his grip on her mind tighter. Jellal needed to win her over sooner rather than later, because later might not be possible. The more lies the Grim told her the harder it would be for Jellal to convince her he was innocent; well, mostly. He actually had killed the Prince, after all.

"Listen…to me...Erza!" Jellal hissed. "I'm...telling...the truth!"

"I'll. Listen. To. No. More. Of. Your. Lies."

She punctuated every word with a blow. Each one created a near deafening clang and bright sparks where the metals clashed. Jellal was beginning to see scrapes on his staff, and felt a blade of fear cut through him like ice. If Erza managed to break his staff he'd be defenseless against her. He had only his throwing knives after that, and even if he did manage to escape, there would be no fighting next time Erza caught up with him, and she'd never stop looking.

"It's...not...a lie! The Prince...was...killing...reapers...for...sport!"

"Lies!" Erza shrieked. She drew her weapon back for an almighty blow that Jellal knew would slice through both his staff and his neck if he didn't do something. He made a split second decision, and swooped down to deliver a bone crunching hit with his staff to Erza's knee caps. She screamed in pain and hit the ground with a thud, her scythe skidding away on the cobblestone street. Jellal took advantage of her vulnerability to pin her to the ground, hoping to make her listen to him.

He pinned her arms to the ground with his knees and pressed his staff against her throat. Not hard enough to suffocate her, but hard enough to get his point across. He took a few seconds to catch his breath and observe her. It'd been years since he'd been able to look at her this close, and he observed the subtle changes in her appearance that he supposed came with womanhood. She'd lost her baby fat, her cheekbones and jawline had become more pronounced, her lips were fuller, and of course, the burning hatred in her eyes was new as well. He briefly wondered if he'd changed like she had, but he didn't spend any time on the thought.

"Erza," he said quietly. "You have to listen to me. The Prince was evil, as is his grandfather." Erza didn't respond to this verbally. She told him what she thought of that statement by spitting in his face. Jellal closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. This was going to be harder than he had originally thought. He chanced taking a hand off the staff at her throat to wipe off his face before he continued speaking.

"He was killing Reapers," he said again. "I know what it sounds like, but it's true. I'm sure you've noticed the unprecedented outbreak of Afterlife Sickness, right?"

Afterlife Sickness was a fatal disease among Reapers that had symptoms not unlike those of the Black Death that plagued the humans. It was an uncommon illness, and not much was unknown about it. In order to prevent spread of the disease the bodies were burnt immediately, as was the home they had lived in. In recent years the Afterlife Sickness had taken a record number of people. At least, that's the story the Grim was telling people. The truth was that at least three of the cases of Afterlife Sickness, maybe more, were cover up's for cold blooded murders that the Prince had committed. Jellal had witnessed the Prince kill one of the victims himself, and before he'd figured out what he should do about it, it was announced that the victim had contracted Afterlife Sickness. The body and home were burned, destroying any evidence that Jellal may have been able to use in order to implicate the Prince.

This public announcement of a false case of Afterlife Sickness had led Jellal to the only possible conclusion: the Grim was covering up for his grandson. This was a gross misuse of power, as murder, and the covering up thereafter, were considered treasonous acts. Knowing that his Prince had committed the former of these two crimes and that his King had done the latter had caused him a great deal of distress. These were the men he'd sworn loyalty to, and pledged the use of his weapons to their service. Now he found out they were corrupt killers, not servants of justice and fate as he had originally thought.

Who did one go to when your reigning monarch committed a crime? Certainly he couldn't confront the Grim himself about it. After what he'd seen the Prince do there was no doubt in his mind that if he was actually granted an audience with the Grim he would never leave the throne room if he threw around an accusation like that. After a great deal of deliberation and prayer he came to an answer. He would kill the Prince.

As a servant of the fates and one of their named enforcers it was his duty to do so. He spent weeks planning, following the Prince and taking note of his fighting style so that he could do his job efficiently when it came time. He sat watched the deaths of two more Reapers, _good men,_ before he felt he was ready to confront his Prince. The deaths of those two weighed heavily on his mind, and even though he knew intervening would have been pointless and would have gotten him killed, he couldn't help but blame himself for their deaths. _If only I'd been a quicker study. If only I'd been stronger, those two would still be alive._

"The Afterlife Sickness was only a cover for what the Prince did! I watched him end three lives myself because I was too weak to stop him!"

"You lie! You seek only to justify your actions and escape your execution!"

"I'm not lying!" Jellal repeated. "What reason would I have to kill the Prince? What could I stand to gain from that? I loved the Grim and his grandson as much as you did until I discovered what they're really like! The Prince was a murderer and the Grim covered up for him!"

"I do not pretend to know the mind of a criminal!" Erza snapped. "Perhaps you are just deranged!"

"Erza!" Jellal shouted, his voice rising above a whisper for the first time since he had pinned her down. "You know me," he continued, lowering his voice once again. "You've said yourself I'm a terrible liar, so look me in the eyes and tell me if I'm lying right now."

Erza huffed in a very predictable way, but she did meet his eyes. She looked long and hard at him, and Jellal, humiliatingly enough, could feel color rising to his cheeks. He cursed himself and the stupid crush he had on her, but continued to meet her eyes. Her eyes searched his face for what seemed like years. He never knew what his tells were, she would never say. He'd asked her on more than one occasion how she knew when he was lying without fail, but she would never reveal her secret.

"How can I believe anything you say?" She said at last, and Jellal sighed, defeated. His shoulders sagged and he dropped his head, breaking his eye contact with her. "You killed the Prince, for all I know you've been deceiving me all these years with this exact plot in mind."

"The only one who has been deceiving you is your King!" Jellal cried, unable to keep his voice quiet anymore. "He's been lying to everyone, breaking his own laws, making exceptions for his kin. He doesn't deserve to be King! He should be set aside by someone who will do the job justly!"

"You speak of justice!" Erza cried, her voice matching his in volume, but also filled with venom. "But you murder without the sanction of the Fates! You killed your Prince and blaspheme against your King! You have no right to speak of justice!"

"I kill only those set before me by the Fates! It's true I have been banished by the King, but the Fates still respond to me! I have not been thrown from the ranks of their servants! What does that tell you about your King? Would one true servant of the Fates rebuke another?" Erza seemed genuinely shocked by this statement. She was quiet for several moments before speaking, and when she spoke her voice was quieter, although it still held venom in it.

"You claim to still be in the favor of the Fates?" Erza asked. Jellal nodded. He met her gaze earnestly, hoping that against all odds she would believe him. Jellal gulped, feeling a cold sweat break out on his neck.

"I am," he whispered, "please, Erza, I'm telling the truth. You have to believe me. I didn't want it to be true either, but I saw it with my own eyes." Erza was quiet for a long time, looking him over. He returned her gaze desperately and silently, feeling himself blush slightly again. Hopefully she wouldn't see that in the dark though.

"I'll need more than the words of a criminal to believe that of my King."

All the air whooshed out of Jellal, and he felt his hope crushed. He deflated, and found himself unable to speak. He merely released the pressure from his staff and climbed to his feet. He put his staff away and left the scene without another word, leaving Erza sitting in the middle of the street, flexing her hands in an effort to get feeling back in them.

His words stayed with her all through the day and night.

 _You know me Erza. What reason did I have to kill the Prince, what could I have gained from that?_

The truth was Erza didn't know. She hadn't questioned it when the Grim himself had come to her and asked her to dispose of the problem. She'd only trusted in her King. She wasn't sure which she should be more ashamed of, the fact that she hadn't questioned the guilt of her childhood friend, or that her childhood friend had made her question her King. The fact that she wasn't sure made her ashamed.

She couldn't stop asking herself that question, though. Why _would_ Jellal kill the Prince? What purpose would that serve? The Grim had made it seem like Jellal was a raging psycho, but after all the years Erza had known him had he given any signs of being such? It was true that in their training they'd been forced to spend an unfortunate amount of time apart. So much time that Erza had barely recognized him when she'd seen him again.

His baby fat had been lost, and his face was more masculine and mature. His expression was what had changed the most. After everything that happened she could see only flashes of the boy that she had once known. He'd always been so strong willed and determined before. Where then had all the desperation and pain come from? She'd never seen him wear that look before, and while she was sure the confidence he'd had at the beginning of the fight had been faked, she also believed his desperation during his final plea for her to believe him was genuine.

If he were a cold blooded killer would he be so desperate for her to believe him? In the position he'd had her in he'd had ample time to kill her and yet he hadn't. Was this a sign that he was telling the truth? If he'd have killed her the next person sent after him would be less of a threat for sure, as she was the best of the best. He had not killed her though, and he'd looked so sincere when he met her gaze and asked her to believe him, and he'd looked so disappointed when she didn't.

She couldn't stop picturing the way he'd deflated after her final rejection. He'd given up then, she could see it in his eyes. She'd kept expecting him to say something, but he'd simply gotten up and walked away. She'd been wrong again when she expected him to look back. What was that about? Was he so hurt by her refusal to believe in him? The thought filled Erza with distress, and she hated it. She hated that in this situation she didn't know what to do.

She simply couldn't believe her rulers would commit such atrocities, and yet every fiber of her being was screaming that Jellal hadn't either. He'd been telling the truth when he'd said that he was still in favor with the fates. She was sure of that. None of his lying tells had shown themselves, and he'd even bitten his lip. That was something he did when he was was telling the truth, but nervous that he wouldn't be believed. It was one of Erza's favorite tells because of the way it made him look when he did it, and she didn't think he even realized he did it. She kept it that way for a reason. If he became conscious of his tells it would be harder to know when he was lying.

That had always been one of Erza's favorite things about Jellal as children, how completely readable he was. He had a tell for pretty much everything. Jellal was an open book, and in a world filled with lies and people who were trying to use her power for their own good it had been nice to have someone that she never had to doubt. She had missed him. Ever since their training had began they'd been able to spend less and less time together, but each time they saw each other it had felt as if no time had passed.

There had also been real guilt on his face when he'd spoken of the man he'd watched the Prince kill, _supposedly._ Blaming himself was always something Jellal had tended to do, much to Erza's annoyance. He placed all the responsibility on himself.

"Stupid boy," she muttered, rubbing her wrists where his knees had rested the night before. "He think's it's his job to save the world, and he never asks for help."

A sudden wave of guilt washed over Erza. This time Jellal had asked for help. _Begged_ for help, and she had denied him. At the time she hadn't thought about how much it must have taken for him to ask her for help. She'd treated him so badly. Once again the look on his face when she'd said she didn't believe him swam across her vision, and she felt her heart clench with shame. She should have at least heard him out instead of rebuking him entirely.

 _No,_ a different voice in her head said. _There's no way his claims were true. He couldn't have been telling the truth. He must have deceived me for all these years._

 _But if it's possible that Jellal has done it, isn't it also possible that the King is?_

Erza paused, her face growing dark over the armor she was polishing. She couldn't argue with that. She'd known Jellal for almost her entire life, and she'd only met the King a few times. It was entirely possible that Jellal was not the one that was deceiving her. She had to at least consider that possibility. She owed that much to Jellal. Erza made a new resolution to investigate the matter on her own before making a decision, but first, she needed to tell Jellal.

Erza spent the rest of the day making repairs and polishing her armor where it had become scuffed in her fight with Jellal last night. She couldn't deny that he was a skilled warrior. Perhaps he was even on par with her. Last night she had been confident that she was more skilled than him, but now she was not so sure. After he had neglected to take the chance to kill her, Erza had begun to consider the possibility that he'd been holding back.

"Arrogant fool," she grumbled. Jellal knew how she hated it when people didn't give it their all in a serious fight. Maybe he'd done it on purpose, just to make her angry. Maybe he hadn't realized that he was holding back out of an unconscious desire to not hurt her.

Erza hadn't noticed if his skills were below their normal level, but it had also been quite a while since they'd sparred, and her skills had grown in that time, so it was a safe assumption that his had as well. Erza thought about Jellal's new signature, a large scarlet _S._ As soon as she'd heard about it she'd known he'd been summoning her, and being summoned had pissed her off. She'd still gone though, and now part of her wished she hadn't. If she'd ignored him she wouldn't be feeling so conflicted right now.

Erza glanced out of her window, and saw that nightfall was still hours away. She sighed, and looked down at her fully repaired armor and scythe. She wondered what Jellal was doing. Probably the same thing she was. She knew she'd dealt him some damage to both his armor and staff. She winced as she thought of the vicious blows she'd landed on his face and head. No doubt he had a killer headache, not to mention his staff, which had taken some heavy damage. Erza looked over her own armor, wondering if the lack of serious damage was something he had done on purpose.

Erza set her armor to the side and stood, stretching her sore muscles. She walked over to her closet and opened the doors, pulling out her favorite dress. It was pretty, but also had several places to conceal weapons. Erza never left the house without a weapon of some sort. Today she carried her throwing knives and a few daggers. Nothing serious, just enough to manage in a fight if she needed too. She left her scythe laying across her bed and locked her door behind her, deciding to do a little subtle canvassing.

Remembering what Jellal had said about watching the Price kill three people who had later been announced victims of the Afterlife Sickness, Erza decided she'd walk by the former homes and see what there was too be seen, although there probably wouldn't be much. The homes and all the personal belongings in the home would have been burned. After that the ground will have been blessed, then allowed to stand for a year before the rubble was cleared away and someone allowed to build there again. It had not yet been a year since these deaths, however, so she would at least be able to look at the ashes of the homes.

It occurred to her that if Jellal was telling the truth, the area's might be under watch, and if she turned up randomly at all three places in the same day that would cause great suspicion. Everyone knew that killing Jellal was her job, and everyone also knew that they had been childhood friends. If what Jellal said was true then the King was probably having her watched closely to be sure she didn't show any signs of defecting.

While she walked she considered the areas around each of the most recent victims. Where could she go that wouldn't raise suspicion. Luckily they were all in rather busy parts of town, so it's not as if she would be heading into a residential area where she didn't know anyone. In the street across from the first victim there just so happened to be an armor shop. Erza was famed for her love of armor, which was perfect. No one would doubt for an instant that she was spending her spare time shopping for more.

Erza made her way there, acknowledging the people that greeted her. She was well liked, and well feared, by her people. Most people tried their best to stay on her good side, so there was never a shortage of friendly conversations to be had if she wanted them. It wasn't a very long walk to where she was headed, Erza didn't live far from the center of the city, and the sun was shining pleasantly. Erza passed through the bustling commercial district of the city, and continued walking down a few streets until she reached a small, but well maintained, armor shop. She glanced at her true target across the street as she opened the door and slipped inside.

The shop inside smelled of metal, leather, and grease. Erza inhaled deeply, feeling immediately at home in this place. A smile split her lips and she grinned at the shop keeper. There was no reason she couldn't splurge a little while she was there.

Erza left the shop with several new acquisitions. She'd bought some leather gauntlets, a leather sheath meant to be concealed in her bra, another sheath that fit snugly against her arm and could be concealed under long sleeves, and a new black cloak. Feeling supremely happy about her purchases, and also pleased with the fact that her bags would provide sufficient cover for her to stroll down the street and not look suspicious, Erza exited the shop and walked down the street towards today's actual target.

On her way Erza couldn't help but notice the new pastry shop that had opened across the street. It had outdoor seating, so it was the perfect place to both enjoy a strawberry cake and observe the burnt remains of the home.

x x x

A few minutes later Erza Was reclining in the shade of a provided umbrella, gazing around, careful not to stare too long at the home in case she really was being watched. When her waitress came and took her order, Erza chanced an indirect question about the home.

"Has it harmed your business any?" Erza asked, indicating the ashen remains of the building. The woman glanced over at the building, then back at Erza.

"Not really, no. We were all worried because we thought that people would be scared to come near here because of the Afterlife Sickness, but people haven't really seemed bothered. The ground's been blessed, so they feel safe."

"Indeed," Erza said. "That's good to hear, although I fear I've already forgotten what the house that used to be there looked like." Erza chuckled at her own expense, and the waitress chimed in.

"You know what, I believe I have as well!"

"Isn't it funny how quickly we forget things that have always been there?"

"It really is," the waitress said. "The most I can remember is that it was two stories, I can't even recall a paint color." Erza chuckled.

"I don't suppose it matters anymore, does it?" The waitress laughed as well.

"I suppose not. I'll just go take your order back. Strawberry cake, right?" Erza nodded in confirmation. The waitress smiled and left to take her order to the chef.

Erza leaned back in her seat and casually observed the place where the home used to be. Two stories, was is? That would make it a story shorter than the two buildings around it. If Jellal had concealed himself on the roof of one of them and looked down through the windows it would have been possible for him to observe the Prince without being seen. That part of Jellal's story checked out at least. So that was two points for him, if Erza counted none of his tells giving him away as one point. The Prince wasn't exactly around to defend himself, so he didn't really get any points. This point system wasn't really fair, so Erza decided to stop using it.

Once again Erza found herself straddling the line between believing Jellal and hating him. Why hadn't he come to her sooner? If he'd thought the Prince was a criminal why hadn't he asked her for help while the Prince was still alive? Why had he waited? Erza gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Stupid idiot," she hissed, "always trying to fix everything on his own so everyone else isn't troubled."

"What's that?" The waitress asked, setting a plate with Erza's cake down on the table in front of her.

"Oh nothing," Erza said, "I was just talking to myself."

"Alright then, sweetie, just tell me if you need anything, alright?" Erza nodded and the waitress walked away.

Erza tucked into her cake absent mindedly. Her thoughts were turned inward once more, this time directed at her earliest memories with Jellal. He'd been the one to suggest her Reaper name, saying it was like her beautiful scarlet hair. Most people assumed that it was a reference to the blood of her victims, but she didn't care, she knew the truth. Jellal's reaper name hadn't always been Heaven's Rebel, the people had only started calling him that after he'd killed the Prince. The name he had chosen when they were young was Heaven's Fist.

Some people had teased him for it, saying it was too harsh a name for such a young boy, until Jellal hit them with his staff. They understood then. Jellal packed a punch like no other, breaking bones without much effort. Erza herself had always liked the name, and she couldn't help but to hope she would hear it one day again. But In order for that to happen again he'd have to be telling the truth, and Erza certainly didn't want Jellal's story to be true.

For the first time Erza thought about just what it was that Jellal was asking her to do. He wanted her to help him take down the Grim. _The Grim._ That was insane! How could they ever do it all by themselves? Did he already have a plan? The Grim was their King, the most heavily guarded individual in their world, and Jellal wanted to take him out, to dethrone him. What exactly was his plan? Did he want to kill the Grim, or put him on trial and sentence him fairly? There was only one thing she could do at this point, and that was to meet with Jellal tonight and ask him about his plans. Like, who exactly did he plan on ruling the Reapers if he succeeded in taking out the Grim?

Erza spent the rest of the day strolling around the city, "happening by" the other two sites in her day on the town, and buying a few more armor pieces and a dress or two. She made it home just before nightfall, which is when a Reaper's business hours began, and suited up, deciding to put on a few of her new acquisitions to break them in. She didn't actually plan on fighting Jellal tonight, so it would be the perfect opportunity to get the feel of them without putting herself in the danger of going into battle with unfamiliar items. She wondered idly if Jellal would notice her new cloak before shaking herself.

 _What does he care what you're wearing?_ She thought. _He's got bigger problems, like being a fugitive. Besides, why do you even care if he notices your cloak? You like it so you bought it._

Erza rolled her eyes at herself before finishing lacing up her boots and straightening. She loaded herself up with weapons, mixing in her new ones with older, more trusted ones, and of course packed her chain and strapped her scythe to her back. The thing was bulky and hard to conceal, but it was also sharpened so well that the softest touch of the blade would bring blood. Erza left her apartment and locked the door behind her, then set out into the night to find Jellal again.

She spotted him standing above a fresh kill, once again. He dipped his fingers into the victim's blood mechanically, as if his mind were somewhere else, before he stood and turned to the nearest wall. His fingers paused an inch away from the wall, as if he was rethinking the action. What was he doing? Was he rethinking his signature? Had he given up on calling her out? After the way she'd treated him last night she didn't blame him. She continued to watch him curiously, wondering what he would do. He sighed visibly, but then lifted his fingers back to the wall and traced out the scarlet S. Erza barely concealed her giggle as Jellal stared his S from the bottom. She could still remember the conversation they'd had when she'd saw him do it when they were children.

 _x_

" _Whoa, wait, why did you write your S that way?" Erza asked, leaning over Jellal's shoulder to look at his paper._

" _Write it what way?" Jellal replied, looking at her paper. "It looks just like yours!"_

" _Just do it again!" Erza commanded. Jellal obliged, looking bewildered. Sure enough, he placed his pencil at the bottom line and worked his way up, forming an S._

" _You started from the bottom!" Erza said, picking up her pencil and writing an S. She began at the top line and worked her way down. "You write your S weird!" Erza concluded._

" _Hey!" Jellal protested, "how do we know that you don't write your S weird! Maybe I'm normal!" So they asked a teacher, and Jellal was horrified to learn that it was he, in fact, who wrote his S weird._

 _Several years later, when they were teenagers, they had finally gotten a day off from training at the same time, so they decided to spend it together. Jellal had taken a piece of paper and written himself a note, but looked up when Erza giggled._

" _What?" He asked._

" _You write your S weird," she said._

 _x_

Suddenly getting an idea, Erza lifted herself silently off the roof and leapt into the alleyway, landing like a cat. Jellal was finishing off his S, and didn't notice her at first. Erza grinned and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms nonchalantly.

"You write your S weird."

Jellal's reaction was hysterical. He jumped about a foot into the air and made this terrified squealing sound that brought to mind a wet kitten or frightened squirrel, and he spun around so fast he tripped a little bit and nearly fell face first into his victim's blood. Erza screamed with laughter, bent double, clutching at her stomach. It only took Jellal a few seconds to realize who she was and what was going on, and he didn't look amused. Erza, on the other hand, couldn't stop laughing. She was having a hard time breathing, and there were tears streaming down her face as she clutched at her stomach.

"Oh my… _grim,_ Jellal _..._ what was...that sound," she managed, in between fits of giggles. She just couldn't get over it. The ridiculousness of that picture. A grown man, an infamous Reaper no less, standing over a dead body with his hands covered in blood making a sound that a kitten would have been ashamed of. Jellal crossed his arms impatiently and began tapping his foot in annoyance. The sight only made Erza laugh harder, now at the look on his face. It was so _ludicrous_ and she was certain she'd _never_ made a sound like that in her life.

"It's not that funny!" Jellal cried, after several minutes of nothing but Erza's laughter echoing through the alleyway. "And don't you think you're being a little disrespectful? I just killed this man, and here you are, laughing over his body." Erza had to take several shuddering breaths to calm herself before she could speak.

"Killing people is our job, Jellal," Erza said, "and if you are telling the truth, the Fates led you to this man, correct?" She looked down at the face of the dead man and saw that his eyes were closed. Jellal had always done that. Most reapers didn't bother, but it was something Jellal did without fail.

"So?" Jellal said, "it's still distasteful." Erza sighed, and nodded.

"You're right. I apologize. It's just that I don't think I've ever heard a grown man make a sound quite like that before." Jellal narrowed his eyes at her before throwing his arms into the air as if to say _I give up._

"Anyway, why are you here?" His voice took on a suspicious tone, and his hand crept towards his staff.

"Relax," Erza said, drawing her scythe then leaning down to place it on the ground in front of her. She sat down cross legged behind it and placed her hands on her knees. It was the Reaper sign of non aggression. "I came to talk." Jellal stared down at her incredulously for several seconds, and for a moment Erza was worried he might cry. The moment passed, however, and instead a small smile crept onto Jellal's lips.

"Alright," he said, "but not here. Somewhere more private." Jellal turned and walked away without stopping to see if Erza was following him. Erza scrambled to her feet and snatched her scythe off the ground, and had to jog to catch up with Jellal.

"Like where?" She asked, once she'd matched pace with him.

"I rented a room at a hotel," he said.

"Wait a minute," Erza said, "You rented a room in the human world? How?"

"Well, I'm not proud," he began, and he certainly didn't look it. "But, I couldn't show my face in our world, so I've been taking money from the people I kill." He winced as he said it. It looked like the words were causing him physical pain.

" _Oh,_ " was all Erza could say.

Plundering gold from the bodies of your victims was a source of highest shame in the Reaper world. It was pure greed, and it reflected badly upon the Fates. There was no need for human currency in the Reaper world, but Jellal was right. He couldn't show his face in their world, so he had to find a way to survive in the human world. He actually did need their currency. Still, she couldn't shake the strong repulsion for the idea.

"I know," Jellal said, as if he could read her thoughts. "That's honestly the worst part of being exiled."

"Even worse than having people coming after you all the time?" Erza asked.

"Really," Jellal said. "It feel's like I'm dishonoring the Fates and everything I believe in, but I have no other choice."

"I guess you're right," Erza said. "I really don't envy you." The two walked in silence for the rest of the trip to Jellal's room. When they got there Jellal grimaced as he unlocked the door, then pushed it open and flicked on the light.

Erza didn't know what she had been expecting. The room looked pretty normal, it was obviously human, the styles and fashions of things were different than in the Reaper world. Other than that, though, the room looked ordinary. It held only a bed and a nightstand, as well as a dresser for personal belongings, but Erza was surprised by the overwhelming plainness of it. Jellal grimaced again, and took off his staff. He placed it in the middle of the floor, and sat behind it, crossing his legs. Erza mirrored him, placing her scythe on the ground between them.

Jellal blinked at her a few times, taking in her appearance. Erza felt her face heating slightly as he stared, unashamed, at her. She prayed that he wouldn't notice the color in her cheeks, or if he did that he would contribute it to something else. Curse this stupid crush she had on him. She was able to ignore it most of the time, but times like this when he was just... _staring_ were harder.

"Did you...go shopping today, Erza?" He asked, seeming perplexed. He was eyeing her new cloak and leather gauntlets weirdly, like they were foreign appendages and he couldn't quite understand what they were doing on Erza's body. She felt her cheeks heat up a little, _he noticed._

"Yea," Erza replied, "I did."

"So I told you that your Prince was a murderer, your King was a harlot, and your first reaction was to go shopping?"

"I was using it as a cover," Erza said indignantly, "I stopped by the last three places that were reported cases of the Afterlife Sickness and looked around. I bought things at surrounding stores as a cover."

"You went to the scenes?" He asked incredulously, "Erza you shouldn't have done that!"

"I took all the risks into account before I made my decision," she said. "I'm aware it's a possibility that I'm being followed. It's also a possibility that those sites are being watched. I was careful, I didn't do anything to raise suspicion." Jellal didn't look entirely convinced, but he let the matter drop.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Jellal asked.

"I'm not saying I believe you," she started, noting the slight slump of his shoulders when she said it, "but what were you doing the first night when you claim to have spotted the Prince killing another Reaper?" Jellal blinked. The question seemed to have taken him by surprise. "Well?" Erza pressed.

"I was, um, out for a late night walk-," he began.

"Liar." Erza snapped.

"How?" Jellal asked, incredulous.

"Tell me the truth or I kill you right now." Jellal's eyes widened, and he gulped. Erza was surprised when Jellal's face started color.

"I, um," he started, looking nervous. "I wanted to see you." Jellal's face was flaming now, and he wouldn't meet her eyes. Erza's eyes flitted down to Jellal's mouth, and sure enough, he was biting his lip. Erza blinked a few times, completely taken aback.

"But, the house where the first victim lived isn't on the way from your house to mine." Jellal's blush only deepened and his discomfort seemed to grow. He squirmed under her gaze, and seemed to be psyching himself up to say whatever it is he was going to say.

"I… got scared and took a different turn." Jellal's face was now so red it matched Erza's hair. She was shocked into silence by this answer, staring blankly at him. _Scared?_ Of her?

"Scared, of what?" She asked, her voice quieter than she had meant it to be.

"That you wouldn't want to see me," He answered. This seemed to Erza to be the truth, or at least part of it, so she let it slide. In the state Jellal was in she wasn't likely to get much more from him on the matter anyway.

"Alright," Erza said, and she could see the relief on his face. Obviously he hadn't been fond of this line of questioning, though she couldn't fathom why. That was a question for another time though. "So tell me, what made you suspicious of the Prince? Did you see him walking down the street at night and assume the worst?"

"No," he said, regaining his composure. He sat up straight once more and his face began to fade back to a normal color. "I didn't know who he was at first, he was cloaked and hooded, trying to pick the lock of a house. I began walking towards him to confront him, but he glanced over his shoulder and his hood fell back. That's when I realized he was the Prince."

"And did he see you?" Erza asked, leaning forward slightly. Jellal shook his head.

"No, I was across the street, and was in between streetlights." Erza nodded again.

"What happened next?"

"He pulled his hood back up to conceal his face again and went back to what he was doing. Within a few seconds he'd picked the lock and gone inside. I knew that if I tried to interfere with what he was doing he could have me arrested and hanged, but I also couldn't just walk away like I hadn't seen anything, so I crossed the road and climbed to the rooftops so I could look through the windows without being seen." Erza nodded. Jellal's story aligned with her own theories, as well as everything she knew about Jellal. Of course he wouldn't just walk away, he could never walk away from something like this.

"Luckily, the curtains were open, or I might not have seen anything."

"What exactly happened?" Jellal met her eyes, and in them Erza saw the truth, that what the Prince had done was so awful it had disturbed Jellal, who usually had pretty thick skin. "You can tell me," she encouraged. Jellal sighed.

"It was awful. He could have killed the man in his sleep, if he was determined to kill him, but he didn't. He woke the man up and toyed with him, chased him around the house with this feral delight on his face. It was senseless. That man had done the Prince no wrong, he wasn't even an active Reaper, he was a shopkeeper. He was defenseless, and the Snow Reaper killed him just to see the fear in his eyes. There was so much blood. The Prince _tortured_ that man."

Erza felt sick. There was no higher shame than for a Reaper to play with their kill. It was a Reaper's job to deliver souls to the fates efficiently and with as little pain to the victim as possible. Each Reaper performed their duties in their own way. Erza typically beheaded her victims or something similar, granting them a near instant death. Jellal used his staff to knock out his victims when possible so they could go into death's arms unawares. Some used poisons that granted swift and painless deaths. All of them gave their targets this small mercy, and to think that someone was not only killing other Reapers, but doing so for pleasure, it made Erza sick.

"I don't believe it," Erza said quietly, but it wasn't a proclamation of doubt as the other times had been, but one of sheer disbelief in the sense that she didn't _want_ to believe. Jellal seemed to sense that and stayed quiet, giving her time to process this. Erza shook her head and covered her eyes with a hand. "It's not possible, the Prince was a good man."

"I thought so too," Jellal said, lowering his voice to match Erza's tone. "He had us all fooled. I never even guessed what he was really like."

Both of them had met the Prince on multiple occasions. Being considered the best and brightest of their generation had it's perks, including being on speaking terms with the royals. Erza recalled all the times she'd spoken with him, laughed at his jokes, and all the dances they'd shared at royal balls. There had been no spark of evil, no glint of madness in his eyes then. Surely someone couldn't be so terrible without showing any outward signs of it.

"He always so pleasant and kind," Erza said, her voice still quiet. She was teetering on the brink now, close to completely buying into Jellal's story, but she wasn't ready to accept it as truth yet. Erza was a loyal subject of her King and of the late Prince still, and in order to betray them she was going to need a lot more than what she had been given.

"Do you even have a shred of physical evidence to back up your claims, Jellal?" Erza asked.

"If you could even call it that," Jellal said. He got to his feet and moved to the dresser, opened the top drawer, and pulled something out from under his clothes. "This letter is cryptic, and could be referring to anything, but I took it from the Prince's body after I killed him."

Erza gasped involuntarily when he turned to face her. From where she was sitting all she could see was the royal seal that had marked the envelope and a large blood stain on one corner. Jellal looked down at the envelope and winced, then looked back at Erza.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I should have warned you. I've gotten used to it, I forgot that you hadn't." Erza nodded numbly, alarmed by the sight of her late Prince's blood. Even if she was teetering on the belief that he was a killer, it wasn't like she could just throw away all of her years of devotion and admiration for the man. "Do you still want to see it?" He asked. Erza nodded again, then reached for it. Jellal held it out to her, and she took it, careful not to touch the blood stain. It just felt wrong.

 _I'm tired of covering for you. You need to cease this madness. This is your final warning._

There was no signature, but there was no doubt that the handwriting belonged to the King. Erza had seen it many times before, in commendations and personal invitations to balls and banquets. She stared at the note for a long time, doing her best to keep her eyes from landing on the Prince's blood. Jellal sensed her discomfort and gently tugged the letter from her hands, then stood and placed it back in it's hiding spot. Erza nodded one more time, and asked another question that had been bothering her.

"Let's say, in theory, that I believe you and decide to help you. What's the plan? What do you hope to achieve? How do you hope to do it?"

"There really isn't a plan," Jellal admitted. "I knew I couldn't do it without you, a trusted member of the court. I have no hope of getting near the King by myself, and I certainly can't take on that many guards all alone."

"So there is no plan?" Erza asked, frustrated.

"Not until you agree to join me."

"And what if I don't?" She said.

"I don't know."

"There's an awful lot to this 'plot' that you don't know."

"That's why I need you, Erza."

"Alright, say I agree, and say we manage to get to the Grim, what do you plan on doing with him?"

"I don't know yet. I've been thinking about whether it would be better to just kill him, or to put him in jail. If we kill him we run the risk of being hunted for the rest of our lives, but if we don't there's a chance he will escape and come for his throne again." Erza nodded. Jellal may not know this part, but at least he had put some thought into it.

"And who do you propose take the throne after him? The Grim has no living relatives, you saw to that yourself." Jellal winced at the jab, but didn't comment on it.

"No one," he answered.

"No one?" Erza repeated incredulously. "You propose we live in a lawless land with no authority?"

"No," Jellal said. "I think we should set up a democracy of some sort, like the humans have. Everyone gets a say, and no one is above the law." Erza considered this for a moment. The idea in and of itself wasn't bad, but she had no idea how to go about setting up a democracy.

"Alright," Erza said, "now tell me about your confrontation with the Prince, and don't leave out any details."

"Are you sure you want to hear it, Erza?" Jellal asked. Erza nodded.

She listened to Jellal tell his tale about how he'd finally confronted the Prince as he was about to enter the home of his fourth known victim. Jellal described their argument, and how the Prince had threatened to kill him, or to have him executed. Jellal described how their argument that had escalated into a brawl, and how he'd killed the Prince, then grabbed the first thing he could find on his body and hope it was evidence. He told how the sounds of their weapons clashing had awoken the intended target for that night, and that they hadn't believed him and called the authorities.

Erza sat silently for a few minutes after Jellal finished his tale, weighing the opposing sides in her mind. There was still the chance that Jellal was deceiving her, but there was also the chance that the Prince had been deceiving her. Erza thought about her own meager information collected in her day out, and the letter that Jellal had shown her. None of these things proved anything. They were all circumstantial and could be manipulated to suit the story teller how they pleased. So after everything she had done to obtain the truth, it still all came down to who she trusted more. Was it the Grim, or was it Jellal?


	2. Eternal Dark

_The Grim Dynasty was established so many centuries ago that no one remembers the exact date. All the masses know is that the Grim has reigned for eternity. He is the only immortal reaper, idea of death personified, and therefore can never be killed. There are legends that the reapers tell, stories of how they believe it happened. Some think the Grim drove away the darkness that once reigned and the demons that lived within it. Others think that this land was so evil the sun refused to shine on it, and the Grim convinced the light to shine and claimed the land as his own._

 _All the stories agree on one thing: the Grim defeated the dark._

 _Only the Grim and his immediate family know the true story._

x

 _Eternal Dark_

"Alright," Erza said, "I'll help you."

Jellal didn't process those words immediately. He spent a few seconds just staring at her, waiting for their meaning to hit him. His head felt as if it was full of molasses, his thoughts muddied. Perhaps it was the shock of hearing those words, _I'll help you._ The words he hadn't expected to hear from her, that made his jaw drop when he finally understood what she had said.

"Wait, what?" A familiar smirk spread across Erza's face at his reaction.

"I said I'll help you." Jellal felt a breath he didn't know he'd been holding whoosh out of him, taking all his pent up anxiety with it. _No way,_ he thought.

"You believe me?" He asked incredulously. Erza nodded, and a wave of sweet relief washed over him. Jellal nodded his understanding, momentarily unable to speak.

It wasn't until then that Jellal realized he hadn't really believed she would side with him. He'd hoped for it of course, but he'd been fully expecting her to reject his claims and kill him. A smile broke across his features as Erza placed her hands on her knees and leaned forwards.

"Of course I believe you, Jellal. You're my oldest friend, there's no one I trust more than you." His breathing hitched, and his heart jolted in a way he would never admit too. He was a fully grown Reaper for goodness sake, not a love struck teenager, he should have better control of his emotions. He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, calming himself.

 _I can't believe this,_ he thought, _she believes me. She's really going to help me. I can't believe it._

"Thank you," he said, the relief clear in his voice even to him. If he was always this easy to read, he mused, no wonder she could always tell when he was lying.

"Well," she said, her voice taking on a different tone, "now that we are officially allies we should stop being so formal." Erza stood, picking up her scythe and leaning it against the wall. Jellal followed suit, placing his weapon next to hers. Erza surprised him by taking his staff in her hands and looking it over, surveying the damage she had done last night.

"This is clumsy repair work, Jellal," she scolded. Now _this_ felt just like old times. Erza had always been one to speak her mind.

"Sorry," he replied, "I don't really have access to any materials from our world." Erza nodded, that was true enough.

"I'll bring you something tomorrow night. Until then lie low, if you get caught and have to fight your way out this staff won't be much use. Too much strain and it will break." Jellal ignored what the knowledge he would get to see Erza for a third night in a row did to him. They hadn't been able to spend so much time together since they were children, and Jellal found himself ridiculously excited for that. He had to keep reminding himself that they were preparing for a war, not a picnic, and the coming trials might see one-or both- of them dead.

"You know you don't have to do this," Jellal said quietly.

"Well I don't see how you'd be able to get the supplies on you own without getting arrested," Erza replied, "and you can't fight with a broken staff."

"No, not that." Erza quirked her head curiously at him, looking confused. "You don't have to help me with this, it'll be really dangerous, we could be killed."

"Don't be stupid, Jellal, I said I was going to help you, so I'm going to. I know full well the risks of what we are going to do, and if I weren't prepared to accept them I wouldn't have agreed. Have a little more faith than that, Jellal."

"You're right," he said, still feeling guilty about putting her in this much danger. "Sorry." Erza nodded and replaced his staff before removing her cloak and tossing it into a corner. Jellal removed his as well, but left it in a pile next to the dresser instead.

"Since we are going to be spending the foreseeable future locked in battle, why don't we take the night off?" Erza plopped down on Jellal's bed, then patted the place next to her. Jellal hesitated, then sat down with his back resting against the wall.

"How have you been, Jellal?" Erza asked, "Other than being on the run from the law," she added, when he gave her an incredulous look.

"Fine I guess," he replied slowly, "I'm a little bored, I can't really leave this room except for work, and even if I could I don't know what around here there is to do. Humans like weird things."

"I've never really paid much attention," Erza said, "I don't spend that much time in the human world."

"There are places that the local humans frequent that always seem to have strange looking people hanging around. Their conversations are quite disturbing as well. Did you know some humans have themselves put to sleep and surgically alter part of their appearance for vanity?" Erza furrowed her brows at him.

"No way," she said, "you must have misheard." Erza shook her head and looked back up at the ceiling.

"I didn't!" Jellal protested, "they call it 'plastic surgery' and it's something they do to appear more beautiful. Some of them even inject poison in their faces to prevent wrinkles!"

"That's insane," Erza said, "there's no way. You must be going crazy."

"I'm not!" Jellal protested. "I read about it in one of their news periodicals!"

"You've been reading the human news?" Jellal shrugged.

"I told you I was bored."

"Let me see it then, I don't believe you," Erza demanded, rolling over onto her stomach and holding out her han. He sighed picked up a glossy volume from his nightstand, the cover depicted a man. It read: _The Sexiest Man Alive._ Erza raised her eyebrows at Jellal, looking back down at the picture. "This is the sort of thing the humans put in their news?" Jellal shrugged.

"I guess. I read the article, and apparently the select a new male every year to hold this title. Some of them are selected more than once, though I believe that this was the first year this man was selected." Erza looked at the picture of the man, wondering what had qualified him to be the "Sexiest Man Alive."

"His nose is weird," she said, before opening to the page Jellal indicated and began to read. "Oh my _grim,_ " she said. "You weren't kidding."

"I told you!" Jellal said, "Humans are crazy!"

"It would seem so," Erza said idly, flipping through the other pages. "Who wore it better?" Erza asked out loud, "don't these people have anything better to talk about than who looked better in the same clothes? Isn't there some war they could be talking about?"

"Maybe they like to pretend nothing is wrong to feel safe," Jellal suggested.

"How pointless," Erza said, "talking about such ridiculous things like clothes in the news."

"That's what I thought," Jellal said. "There were other issues from different news providers, and they all held similar material."

"There were other issues from different sources?" Erza asked. "Did they all declare this person to be the 'Sexiest Man Alive'?" Jellal shook his head.

"The others were talking about broken marriages and romantic drama on the cover, this one seemed like the best best." Erza snorted.

"You were right, the humans are weird." There were a few moments of silence before either of them spoke again.

"What about you?" Jellal asked, "how are things for you? Have I missed much?"

"Not really," Erza said, "I finally got to go to that new pastry place near the armor shop." Jellal chuckled.

"Of course," he said, smiling, "and you had the strawberry cake I presume? How was it?"

"It was pretty good," Erza said, "although I wasn't paying that much attention, it was across the street from the first house, so I was observing it."

"What information did you obtain from this venture?" Jellal asked. There was still a smile plastered across his face, and Erza couldn't tell if he was teasing her or not.

"I learned that the house was one story shorter than the others, so you could have concealed yourself on the roofs of one of them and watched the murder. I also learned that the new pastry shop has rather good strawberry cake."

"You asked a local about the house?" Jellal asked, sounding alarmed.

"In passing," Erza said, waving a hand at him, "I asked if the case of Afterlife Sickness had affected their business, then I mentioned that it was funny that I had already forgotten what the house looked like even though only a short time has passed. The waitress offered up the information about the buildings height." Jellal nodded, reassured.

"Good," he said, "I'm sure you're being watched."

"I think you're right," Erza said, "I'm sure the Grim was scared that this exactly would happen. He know's about our relationship."

"What are we gonna do about this, Erza?" Jellal asked, sounding half hopeless.

"We'll worry about that tomorrow," Erza said. "We're taking tonight off, remember?"

"Right, sorry." They were silent for a few more moments.

"Do you remember when we were little and they let you use a staff for the first time?" Erza asked, flipping onto her back again and grinning at Jellal. He snorted and shook his head bemusedly.

"You mean that time I nearly killed myself?" Erza laughed.

"Yeah, you swung it once and landed flat on your butt and nearly broke your nose with it." Jellal laughed again. "Everyone in the room was making fun of you and laughing saying you couldn't do it, but you just got back up and tried again. You were so determined to prove them wrong, I was really in awe." Jellal blinked down at Erza, surprised. She'd never told him this before. "Everyone said you couldn't do it, that a scrawny little boy like you could never master the heavy weighted staff that the 'Grown Up Reapers' used. And look at you now, the strongest and most skilled staff wielder out there." Jellal felt himself coloring at the praise. He wasn't sure why Erza was saying all of this, it wasn't like her. She spoke with her eyes locked on the ceiling, not looking at Jellal. "The odds were against you, you didn't have the build for it, but you did it anyway. That's the kind of person you are, you beat the odds, just like you will in this war. The odds are stacked against us, but that's never stopped you from achieving your goals before."

Jellal was speechless. As Erza finished her story she met his eyes and flashed him the most brilliant smile he'd ever seen. He sat there next to her, watching as her smile lit up her eyes, and knew that he was in big trouble.

Erza gazed up at Jellal and the unreadable expression on his face. She wondered what he was thinking to be making a face like that. She could normally read him, but she'd never been able to guess what the expression meant. She'd only seen it a few times, usually when he thought she wasn't looking, or in times like right now when he'd let his guard down. This was the first time he'd looked her dead in the eyes with that expression for so long. She knew what she _wanted_ it to be, but she pushed that thought away. Regardless, she couldn't push away the way her heart fluttered at the look.

"Thank you," Jellal murmured, "for saying that." Erza's smile softened, and she propped herself up on her elbows.

"It's the truth," she said, "you shouldn't worry so much about it, we'll think of something, but later. It's still our day off," Erza said.

"Right," Jellal said.

He thought about the first time Erza had ever been given a scythe; the way the black steel had sliced through the air with deadly accuracy. She'd twirled and spun it around her body with near perfect form on her first attempt. Erza had been nothing short of a natural. No one had questioned her weapon choice, not even once. She had been made for scythe wielding. Jellal didn't have any doubts that he'd chosen the right person to help him in his quest.

Just then, Jellal's stomach growled loudly, and Erza shot him a perplexed look.

"When's the last time you ate?" Erza asked, sitting up completely now.

"Um," Jellal said, feeling awkward. "I don't know, really. I've been having to spend most of my human money to stay in this room, I don't have much left."

"I'll bring you food tomorrow," Erza said.

"You're a lifesaver," Jellal said. Erza snorted at the irony. Her, a life saver. Her parents would be so disappointed. His stomach growled again, and Erza gave him another look. His cheeks colored slightly. Erza fought to conceal her smile, getting up and peering out of the curtains to look at the sky. It was beginning to lighten, meaning it was nearly morning.

"I'll go and do that now," she said. "I'll probably hang around in our world for a few hours to avoid suspicion, then I'll come back. Think you can stand to wait on me?" The smirk she threw over her shoulder as she picked up her scythe let Jellal know she was only teasing him.

"I don't know," he replied, grinning, "I'll try."

"Oh and one last thing," Erza said, her face deadly serious. "I need you to punch me in the face."

"What?" Jellal spluttered, sitting up and giving her an incredulous look. "Why?"

"I need you to punch me in the face, and don't hold back, there needs to be a bruise."

"Why?" Jellal repeated, dumbstruck.

"Because I spent all night out in the human world, if I come back without a single scratch _and_ without you it will cause suspicion." Jellal just sat and stared at her. He didn't want to hit Erza! In fact, when they'd fought the night before he'd done his best not to. "Come on, hurry up," she urged. "It'll be payback for that wicked bruise I gave you on your head."

"I'm not mad about that," he said, reaching up to touch his still aching head.

"Well get mad, because I'm not leaving this room until you punch me in the face." Jellal looked into Erza's face and saw that she wasn't backing down. He sighed, then got to his feet. He walked over to her and brought up his fist. He gulped and looked into her eyes, feeling guilty when he saw nothing but trust and impatience there. Wincing, he swung at her, not as hard as he could, but definitely hard enough to leave a nasty bruise. Erza's face snapped to the side, and he sucked in a breath. He opened his mouth to apologize, but when she turned to face him she was grinning.

"Thank you," she said, reaching up and touching her face, which was already starting to turn purple. Then, before he could stop her, she whipped out the serrated knife he wore at his side and sliced her arm. Jellal cried out in shock and alarm, dumbfounded when she passed his knife back to him like she hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. "I'll be back," she chirped, slipping out of the door with no further fanfare.

Jellal sighed when the door clicked shut behind her, shaking his head in disbelief. She was _insane_. He walked back over to the bed and sat down, still in shock. Half of him admired her forethought and determination, the rest was concerned if _he_ was going to be able to survive this partnership of theirs. This wasn't going to be easy, not any of it. Not the part where he was going to be spending copious amounts of time alone with Erza, or the part where he was going to try and overthrow the Reaper government. He laid back on the bed, not bothering to disarm himself. These days he never removed his weapons except for when he showered, and even then he kept a dagger within reach. Before she'd agreed to help him he wouldn't have put it past Erza to attack him while he was in the shower just for the element of surprise.

Jellal wondered about how they were going accomplish his goal, no doubt Erza already had a plan, and a backup plan, and a back up plan for the back up plan. He was really very fortunate to have her on his team. With her at his side he would be confident in taking on the entire Reaper army, although he still hoped it wouldn't come to that. Right now his biggest problem was doing something to screw up her allegiance to him, like slipping up and kissing her like he'd almost done earlier that night. He wasn't sure how she'd react, but he knew kissing her now while they were preparing for a war could only spell disaster.

If, by some miracle, she returned his feelings, Jellal was certain that something would happen to screw things up. His luck had been so poor recently he was beginning to feel like the universe was just playing him for a fool. Not to mention that if they were to enter into some sort of relationship Jellal couldn't be sure that he would see his goal through to the end, not when they had the option of living together in hiding. The Grim had to go down, no matter what, which is why he'd have to keep his feelings under control.

Thinking that he might as well get some rest right now, because once Erza came back she'd be going ninety miles an hour until the mission was over, he closed his eyes and slept.

As Erza walked through one of the gateways between the two worlds she began plotting her and Jellal's attack strategy. She'd personally seen the castle fortifications, and they were impenetrable. An entire army couldn't break through them, much less just the two of them. Sneaking in was also probably out of the question. With a larger team it might have been possible, with some people creating a diversion while she and Jellal snuck in, but there wasn't anyone else she trusted enough to let in on this mission. Not people that she cared to endanger anyway. She knew she could ask Natsu, Lucy, and Gray for help, but she wouldn't do it. She didn't want their lives at risk.

Erza walked idly through the streets, making her way back to her home. She kept pressure on her wound during the walk, though she allowed some of the blood to seep through her fingers so it would be clear she was injured. For good measure she started favoring one side, pretending that a few of her ribs were bruised or broken. Anyone who saw her would assume that she'd had a hard battle, and that what they were seeing was the least of her wounds. The imagination of the people would also work in her favor, because if anyone on the street were questioned at a later date they would no doubt describe her as "beaten to hell" or something similar, recalling her many bruises instead of the singular one on her face.

Erza couldn't help but smirk when she thought about the look on Jellal's face when she'd asked him to punch her. Or the look he'd given her when she'd cut her arm. She knew by now he had figured out why she had done it, but she expression on his face as she'd handed him back his knife had made not explaining worth it. Lost in her thoughts as she was, it took her a moment to realize someone was calling her name. Coming back to reality, she turned gingerly as if the motion pained her, and saw one of the high ranking member of the Reaper Royal Guard waving at her and running to catch up.

"Erza!" He said when he finally reached her, panting from his run. "I'm glad you finally heard me. You know despite being injured you move fast." Erza wondered vaguely if this was the person who'd been assigned to tail her. She looked him up and down critically, taking note of his abilities and station. _Yes,_ she thought, _this is who I would have chosen as well._

The Reaper bent over panting in front of her was known as The Silence. He was matched by no one in his stealth abilities, and he was a high ranking member of the Royal guard, who had frequent meetings with the Grim himself. He was a highly trusted member of the Grim's court. No wonder Erza hadn't noticed him tailing her, when he was undercover it was almost impossible for him to be found. Lucky for her, he couldn't follow her into the human world, so her allegiance with Jellal was still a secret. Each portal into the human world, if opened from the Reaper world, could lead to anywhere, and there was no way of knowing where another Reaper had gone. A gateway opened from the human world, however, could only connect to one of the existing gateways that stood open all the time, which is why Erza hadn't simply been able to go straight to her apartment.

Most of the Gateways opened in or near hospitals for Reapers who'd been injured. Erza had to admit it was a good system. There were medic Reapers on standby at all the portals at all times in case someone who needed medical attention at once stumbled through. She'd merely waved them off of her when she'd come through the Gateway, insisting that she was fine and didn't have anything a hot bath wouldn't cure. They'd looked reluctant to let her go, though unsurprised. Erza rarely accepted medical treatment.

"What is it, Kageyama?" Erza asked.

"I was going to ask you how the hunt for Jellal was going," he said, straightening.

"If I had any news to report I would have headed straight for the Grim," Erza said dryly. Kageyama smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Right, sorry." Erza wasn't fooled by this act, Kageyama was brutal and calculating. She stared impatiently at him, waiting for him to say whatever it was he had really come to say. "It can't be easy, hunting down your childhood friend like that." _Bingo._

"Jellal severed any friendship we had when he betrayed the Grim and killed the Prince," She said coldly, drawing on the anger and hatred she'd felt for him before hearing his story.

"Is it really that easy though?" Kageyama asked, a bit of his coldness seeping into his eyes.

"Is there a reason it wouldn't be?" She replied.

"No, I guess not," He said. There was silence for a few beats before he continued. "You look pretty rough, did he do that to you?"

"Yes," Erza said shortly. "I caught up with him and we fought, but he managed to escape. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to tend to my wounds and prepare for a hunt before he has a chance to disappear again."

"A hunt?" Kageyama asked, "when do you think you'll return?"

"That depends on how much longer you plan on wasting my time," Erza snapped angrily, allowing her real frustration to show through.

"O-of course," he stammered, surprised by her sudden anger. Erza had been told that when she was angry she was truly terrifying. "I'll leave you alone then."

"Thank you," Erza said shortly. She turned and walked away, careful not to forget to favor one side again. She walked away at a rapid pace. She wasn't worried if people would wonder if she was really hurt, Erza was known for being durable. It only took her a few minutes to reach her apartment and lock the door behind her. She closed all the curtains for good measure before dropping her fake injury.

Erza bustled around the apartment, picking up random odds and ends she might need. She'd told Kageyama that she'd be going on a hunt. 'Hunting' was a Reaper slang term for spending long amounts of time in the human world stalking a target, so she'd need to pack a few changes of clothes and underwear. She'd probably actually stay in the human world with Jellal in case Kageyama kept watch over the Gateways. She couldn't think of anything she'd done to raise his suspicion in their meeting, but it was better safe than sorry. She packed several extra weapons and her repair kit, then remembered Jellal's damaged staff.

She remembered with a start that Jellal had left some of his supplies at her house last time he'd come over. She retrieved it from the drawer she'd placed it in, then frowned. It wasn't everything he would need. If only she could get into his apartment. But why couldn't she? She was the Reaper put on his case, so she should be allowed to investigate his apartment. Erza smiled, thinking that while she was there Jellal would appreciate some clean underwear and clothes.

She took care to pack his favorite treats as well as nutritious foods that would keep them strong. Maybe she would stop by and buy some pastries as well. No one would question that, Erza loved pastries. She grinned, thinking about all the things she'd pack. She wondered exactly how long they would take to train and plan. She'd packed for a week, but she could always come back.

Once she was done packing she took the time to fully arm herself and bandage her arm. She wanted to look the part, and fewer people would bother her if she looked like she was on her way to a job. She packed her new armor and put on the older ones, thinking that she could use the new ones to disguise herself should she need to. Her new cloak had been forgotten in the corner of Jellal's room, so she donned the older cloak. She strapped her scythe to her back and then strapped on several knives, as well as a katana. She wasn't as skilled with it as she was with a scythe, but it was always good to have a back up, she also packed a second bag full of sheets.

After all of those things were finished she headed in the direction of Jellal's apartment, no longer favoring her side. If she saw Kageyama again she'd say she'd taken pain medication. On her way she stopped at a dessert shop and bought her and Jellal's favorites. She scanned the crowd briefly, but didn't spot Kageyama. That didn't mean he wasn't watching though, she she kept up her hurried determined pace. As she turned onto the street Jellal lived on, she heard someone calling her name, but pretended not to notice at first. She approached Jellal's apartment directly, acting like she wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Erza!" Kageyama called. Erza rolled her eyes before glancing over her shoulder and pretending to be surprised when she laid eye on him.

"Kageyama, it's a pleasure to see you again so soon," she lied.

"I got worried," he said, not looking worried at all, "when I saw you weren't heading directly to the human world. I thought you were going on a hunt."

"I decided that it would be a worthy detour to investigate Jellal's apartment for clues for his whereabouts."

"Oh what a clever idea!" He said, "would you like some help?"

"Are you implying I can't do my job?" She snapped, looking irritated, "because I can assure you that if I would stop getting so many interruptions I would have my work finished sooner."

"Not at all," he commented, "although I can't help but notice that your job could have been put on hold for desserts."

"A worthy delay," Erza said, "I think better when I've had strawberry cake."

"I see, but don't you think two heads are better than one?"

"Not when the subject is the person I know better than anyone else," Erza said irritatedly, "frankly you would only get in my way because I already know how Jellal thinks." Kageyama nodded.

"I can't imagine what it's like for you," he said, obviously fishing again.

"We've had this discussion once already today, is there anything else?" Kageyama was quiet for a moment, then shook his head.

"My apologies." Erza nodded briskly, then turned on her heels and walked toward Jellal's apartment again. She was relieved to see that there were no guards posted at his door. No doubt after a week the Grim had decided to stop wasting manpower, if there was ever anyone there to begin with. Erza retrieved the spare key from where it was hidden in the potted plant and opened the door.

Erza was immediately engulfed in Jellal's scent. She smiled involuntarily as she looked around. The place was immaculate. Jellal had always been a neat freak, often doing her dishes or straightening out her living room when he came over. She had half a mind to wreck the place just to annoy him when he got back, but she didn't. She went straight to his bedroom and was confronted with her own smile when she opened the door.

Right across from the door stood Jellal's dresser, and on top of it were several pictures. One of them was of Jellal and herself as children, grinning brightly next to each other. It had been taken their first day of school. Erza could remember how excited the two of them had been to start school. She smiled at the picture, then turned her eyes to the other two. The next was of them at their graduation, Jellal holding his staff and Reaper certification, and Erza holding her scythe and certification certificate. In the picture they weren't looking at the camera, but at each other. If she recalled correctly then he had just told a joke, and she'd been laughing.

The last picture was of her alone. She was a little startled by it. She couldn't remember when it had been taken, and by the looks of it, she hadn't been aware it was being taken. She was looking to the side, her head thrown back in a laugh. She peered closer at it, trying to remember when it had been taken. She knew the outfit, it was one of her first armors, so it must have been taken years ago. There were trees and a blue sky behind her, so she must have been outside, but she still couldn't recall. Seeing the picture there brought an unfamiliar warmth to her chest. She liked that he had this picture. She liked that he wanted to keep her close like this. After brief consideration she tucked the pictures of both of them under her arm and left the third.

After that she set down her bags and began opening drawers. She almost immediately discovered that Jellal was a boxer man. Erza took the time to pick out the most embarrassingly patterned ones before throwing her sheets in the floor and packing the boxers. Next she walked to his closet and picked out her favorite shirts, a blue, black, white, and purple one. She also grabbed his boots and a few pairs of pants. She paused in her packing to wonder where he kept his spare weapons. She'd like to take him his truncheons. They were his preferred secondary weapons, and he was truly amazing to watch with them. She checked the other drawers of his dresser and was pleased to see them resting on top of the third drawer.

She checked the rest of it's contents and thought that this must be his spare weapon storage, because there were also several knives, a pair of leather gauntlets, and another cloak. She packed it all, then went through the other drawers. These also produced several more weapons, as well as the rest of Jellal's weapon repair supplies. Satisfied with her acquisitions, Erza zipped up her bag and left. She made her way purposefully to the nearest Gateway and transported directly into Jellal's room.

Jellal was walking out of the bathroom after his shower, clad in nothing but a towel, when Erza appeared out of nowhere right in front of him. He let out a shout of alarm and took a few steps back. She turned to look at him when he did, glancing at his wet hair, bare chest, and towel, then tossed him a duffle bag.

"Oh good, you've showered," she said. "I brought you clean underwear." Jellal felt his face heat up, both because he was almost completely naked, and also at the implication that she'd been through his underwear drawer. He mumbled a thanks and retreated to the safety of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Jellal set the dufflebag on the sink and felt his heart stop when he opened it. Right there, on top of his clothes, were two pictures from the top of his dresser. Their presence there wasn't what bothered him, he knew Erza had a copy of both of these in her apartment herself, it was the missing picture that bothered him. The picture that he'd hidden every time she came over so she wouldn't be weirded out. He knew he had left it on display that fateful night, and if Erza had seen these two pictures she'd seen the other one.

 _Oh Grim,_ he thought, clutching at the sink. _She knows. She knows about that picture of her. She's going to kill me. What must she have thought that I have a picture she didn't even know I took of her in my bedroom? Oh Grim, she must think I'm so creepy. What if she knows now, what if she figured out how I feel about her? Oh no, what's she going to do._ Jellal squeezed his eyes shut, forcing his breathing steady. _Relax,_ he told himself, _you're over reacting. She's not mad, or she would have said something already. Relax._

But the idea of Erza having seen that photo scared him. He worried that it would reveal his true feelings to her, and after everything he'd done to keep them a secret. He'd just decided to continue on like that, and that telling her now could only lead to disaster, and now this happened. He reasoned that she could have dismissed it, it's not like he had a box full of them or anything, just the one. It wasn't that weird. They had, after all, been friends their whole lives.

After sufficiently calming himself down, he placed the pictures to the side, then felt himself starting to blush again. The underwear she'd packed all had ridiculous patterns on them. He didn't know why he'd expected her to have brought him his normal pairs, oh no, she had to bring the random pairs he'd gotten as gag gifts or something similar. Grimacing, he pulled on the pair with red hearts, figuring it wouldn't matter since he would have pants on. He was relieved to see that she'd packed him normal shirts and pants at least. He pulled those on and decided to go through the rest of the contents in the room. He could tell she'd packed some weapons due to the weight, and he was also rather eager to eat whatever food she had brought with her.

When he stepped out of the bathroom he saw that Erza had already unpacked her bag, and by unpacking she took the contents of her bag and threw them in random places of the room. The smirk on her face let him know she'd done it on purpose. She nodded approvingly at the shirt he had chosen, and patted the ground next to her. She sat at the foot of her bed, resting her back up against it, munching on a strawberry pastry.

"I got your favorite," she said, swallowing her mouthful of strawberry. Jellal walked over and sat beside her, taking the paper wrapped desert from her and unwrapping it. Sure enough, there sat a cherry filled bear claw.

"Yes," he said, grinning. Bear Claws were something that the Reapers had picked up from the humans, and rightly so in Jellal's opinion. They were the best things ever. Well, friends who surprised you with Bear Claws were the best thing ever. He dug into his pastry happily, feeling like a child eating ice cream for breakfast. If there was anything that the humans could do right, it was dessert. "Thank you," he said after he finished.

"No problem. I brought other food, that was just a treat. You should eat something else."

"You're probably right," Jellal said. Erza got up and moved to the tiny refrigerator in the corner, and pulled out a bowl with a lid. "So you went to my apartment?" Jellal asked, "was it under guard?"

"No," Erza said, "if it ever was they probably took the guards off your door after about a week. I did see Kageyama, though. I'm pretty sure he's my tail."

"That would make sense," Jellal said, "he's the best. What did he say?"

"He kept trying to ask me about how hard it was for me to hunt you, probably looking for signs of disloyalty. I got rid of him by saying you'd just escaped and I was trying to prepare for a hunt, so I'll stay with you for a few nights." Jellal gulped, not letting himself think about sharing a room with Erza.

"Did he believe you?"

"I don't know," Erza said. "Probably not, but I gave him no reason to doubt me. He followed me to your apartment and offered to help me look, but I told him he'd slow me down because he didn't know you like I did."

"How did you sneak out the bag of clothes?"

"I carried it in full of sheets and left the sheets in your apartment."

"Good idea."

"Did you look through the entire bag?" Jellal shook his head. "I brought you your Truncheons."

"Thank you!" Jellal exclaimed. "I was really upset I couldn't go back for them."

"I thought if we were going to fight in a war then we should put our best foot forward. For you that means you need your truncheons."

"We should probably stage a fight sometime soon, away from here, so they will be looking for you somewhere else. It will also keep my 'hunt' story in tact. We don't know how long it will take us to prepare, we might need it later."

After that they ate the contents of the bowl, ham, and then got to work making necessary repairs to their weapons. Jellal unpacked his bag, examining each weapon as he did so. Most of them were in excellent condition, and the rest needing only minor repairs, other than his staff. His staff was still in poor condition.

"You really did a number on my staff, Erza," he commented as he began unpacking his repair tools. One of the things that made Reaper metal so desireable was that it was easily mended by Reapers in the field once it was forged. With proper application of heat and certain oils the metal would 'heal' itself.

"I would apologize, but I'm not sorry," she replied, unwrapping the bandage around her arm to inspect the wound. It was swollen and red. Erza swore. "When's the last time that you cleaned that blade." Jellal looked up from his work, clearly thinking.

"I actually don't-oh no." Jellal's eyes had landed on Erza's wound, clearly infected.

"I didn't clean it when I got home, I only stitched it up because I thought your weapon was clean for sure." Jellal shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, it's my fault for assuming and not taking care of it properly." Erza climbed off the bed and walked over to a pile of clothes, pulling out her first aid kit. She moved over closer to the light and pulled out one of her knives. She sanitized it, then began cutting her stitches. Jellal winced when she touched it with a finger. Erza swore again.

"It's closed up, I'll have to open it back up." She directed the tip of the knife back at herself, preparing herself for pain.

"Wait!" Jellal cried. The tip of the knife stopped just short of her skin. "Let me do it." Erza hesitated for a beat, then flipped the knife in her hand and held it out to him, a silent acceptance of his offer. He set down his staff and repair kit and came over to her, taking the knife.

Erza looked at him with some trepidation. She almost never allowed other people to take care of her wounds, but this was Jellal, so she was making an exception. Jellal took her arm gently, scooting so that his knees pressed up against her. From this close their height difference really became apparent.

Erza didn't normally take note of such things, but as he peered down into her eyes and asked her if she were ready she couldn't help but feel _small._ The feeling wasn't entirely bad, mostly it was unsettling, but at the same time it was, _nice,_ to not be the biggest, scariest person in the room. Under normal circumstances people would shrink away and cower from her, even if she wasn't trying to scare them. Even when people treated her almost normally, they still spoke to her with more respect than was necessarily due her. There was always the sense that she could easily kill them and they knew it, so they were careful to be respectful to her.

She had never realized until this moment how tiring that was. How exhausted she was from always being the most powerful person in the room and to be feared by everyone she met. There was always so much expected of her. She was always in charge, always expected to be perfect. Maybe that's why she'd fallen for Jellal. When she was with him there was none of that. Erza was just Erza. He didn't care about how powerful she was because he was on par with her in skill, and he'd never feared her a day in his life, he just cared about her for who she was. He even did his best to take care of her, and no one had ever done that for her. Even her foster parents had expected her to be able to take care of herself. So that was why she could feel a blush creeping up on her cheeks as he took her arm and asked if she was ready before he opened her wound. She just nodded her head and looked away, and for the first time in her life, just allowed herself to be taken care of.

Jellal held her arm gently as he carefully ran her knife along the wound, splitting it open and allowing the blood to seep out. The cut wasn't clean, she intended for it to be a jagged wound, as Jellal was known to carry a serrated knife. It helped to add to the realism of her story if anyone had asked to see it. Now that she was back in the human world without that having happened it seemed a little useless. Erza sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, focusing her attention of the warmth and tenderness of Jellal's hand on her arm instead of the cold steel splitting her inflamed skin. She felt her face heating up again as he gently brushed the blood away from her wound. It was a tenderness she was unfamiliar with, so it was only natural she react this way, right?

"Nearly done," he said. A few seconds later the knife was pulled away. She opened her eyes to observe the wound. Jellal had placed a hotel towel under her arm to catch the blood that was now flowing freely from her arm. It looked just as red and inflamed as she remembered it. "Are you ready for the next part?" Erza nodded. "Do you want something to bite down on?" Erza nodded again. "I'll get a washcloth." Jellal got to his feet and walked to the bathroom and reappeared moments later with a rag in hand. "Here."

Erza took it wordlessly and tucked it in between her teeth. She looked Jellal in the eye and nodded, then closed her eyes. She couldn't help but let out a grunt of pain as Jellal pressed the flat end of the blade down, hard, against her skin and began to squeeze the infection out. Erza bit down hard on the washrag, but other than that showed no outward sign of her pain. She didn't flinch or try to pull her arm away. Erza sat completely motionless even though every fiber of her being was screaming for her to pull her arm away from him. It felt like it took him years to finish, but she knew it was probably only a few minutes at most.

Jellal used the towel to gingerly wipe away the remnants of blood and pus before pulling out the disinfectant. Erza spit out the washrag and gave Jellal a pained grin. He smiled back at her, opening the bottle of disinfectant and wetting a cotton ball. "Nearly done now," he said idly. The soft tone of his voice made Erza's heart skip a beat; she was finding she quite liked being taken care of. She winced a little at the sting, but it wasn't so bad, especially with how gentle Jellal was being. Next came the stitching, which didn't bother her at all.

She turned to watch him while he did it, and discovered that he put in stitches differently than she did. She'd never seen him tend to a wound before, so she had no reason to know that, but it still surprised her a little that there was something she hadn't known about him. She glanced back up at the focused expression on Jellal's face, and for the first time noticed the cut on his brow, left from where she had struck him the other night. On impulse she reached up and brushed it with her thumb, wondering if she had fractured the bone. There was a nasty bruise that was turning from purple and black to a nasty yellow color. Jellal looked up at her, surprised, then smiled.

"It's fine," he said, "it's healing, and the bone isn't broken."

"That's good," Erza replied, her eyes not leaving the injury. "Although I struck you twice…" Her voice trailed away as she tried to remember where she had hit him. There were no other bruises on his face. Jellal reached up and placed his hand over hers, enclosing his fingers around her palm and taking her hand away from his face.

"You broke my nose," he said, "but I used the last of my healing potion on that because it was making it hard to breathe." Suddenly Erza remembered slamming the butt of her scythe into his face and blood pouring from his nose.

"Fool," she said, looking him in the eyes. "What if I hadn't joined you, then you wouldn't have been able to heal yourself if you were injured more seriously." Erza realized how close they were suddenly, but Jellal seemed like he was still oblivious, or maybe she just didn't effect him in the way that he affected her. He was looking down at the cut on her arm, which he hadn't finished stitching up yet. His thumb stroked the skin below it absently, and he seemed like he was in an entirely different world.

"Maybe," he said, "but I never lost hope that you would join me."

"Are you sure?" Erza asked skeptically, "because you looked pretty surprised when I said I would help."

"I had hope, but I didn't think you would actually agree," He elaborated, looking up at her again at last. Erza watched him realize how close they were and become flustered. Their faces were only inches apart.

Her heart jolted as she recognized the look in his eyes. It was desire, and longing. There was more there, however, restraint. She realized that in this moment he badly wanted to kiss her, and that he returned her feelings, but he was holding back, and she thought she knew why. The war. Changing their relationship now, right before they marched into battle could spell disaster. Erza smiled, then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. She heard his breathing hitch and felt him freeze, waiting to see what she would do next. She leaned back again to see the surprised expression on his face, and was pleased to find his cheeks had colored.

"It's alright," she said, "I understand. You're right." Erza said, scooting back a little. Jellal nodded, not trusting himself to speak. His throat was still closed up from Erza's kiss, and he knew that if he spoke his voice would sound hoarse and choked. Erza shifted slightly so that her injured arm was facing him, and Jellal picked the needle back up, wordlessly finishing his work and cutting the string.

A knock at the door made them both freeze, Jellal's hands in the middle of wrapping Erza's wound.

"Housekeeping!" The voice called.

"No thank you!" Erza replied. Both Erza and Jellal sighed in relief, and he resumed wrapping her arm. As he tied it off there was another knock, and they froze again, this time looking at each other with wide eyes. Erza didn't know much about human customer service standards, but that didn't seem right.

"We don't want housekeeping!" Erza replied. She signaled for Jellal to tie off her bandage. He did so and started to get to his feet to answer the door as a third knock rang out. Erza grabbed his arm to stop him and get to her feet. She stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear.

"It could be Kageyama, I'll check, if it's him I may be able to convince him to leave."

Jellal nodded and stepped back to allow Erza closer to the door. She stepped forward and peered out of the peephole. Sure enough, standing in front of her door, was Kageyama. Erza hissed a curse and beckoned for Jellal to go hide in the bathroom. On a spur of the moment decision Erza grabbed her needles covered in sedative and tucked them into her belt before opening the door, painting an irritated look on her face.

"I said no house- Kageyama," she hardened her voice on the last word, not hiding her displeasure at seeing him. He took a step forward like he was going to come in, but Erza held the door closed and didn't move out of the way.

"Hello, Erza."

"How did you find me?" She asked, "And why are you here. I told you you would only slow me down, I don't want your help, and I don't need it."

"I simply followed the last reports of Reapers fighting in the streets, and they lead me straight to you. I must say, I thought you would have moved on by now."

"I believe Jellal is still in this city, so I will remain here until convinced otherwise. I bought a room because I needed a place to prepare for my fight with him tonight, should I find him."

"Of course, of course," Kageyama said, "It wasn't my intention to question your method."

"Then why are you?" She snapped.

"It's just that, I was ordered to come check on you." Erza feigned surprise, which turned into real surprise when she felt a sudden warmth at her side and a hand tugging at her belt. She refused to let herself look at Jellal or react to his presence at her side at all, but she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing.

"You were ordered by the Grim?" Erza asked, putting surprise into her voice right next to the annoyance. Kageyama nodded.

"Well I'm going to have to insist that you go back and tell him I don't want or need any help."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Kageyama said. Erza heard the window slide open and Jellal slip out. Suddenly she realized what he was planning, and what Jellal had taken from her belt became apparent. Her needles. He was planning on knocking Kageyama out, and at the words that came out of Kageyama's mouth next, Erza couldn't help but agree that this was their best plan of action.

"And why is that?" Erza asked.

"Because I believe Jellal is in that hotel room with you."

 _Killing another Reaper is the most vile and despicable thing a Reaper can do. Very few ever have, which is why the secret to the Grim's immortality is the best kept secret of the kingdom._

 _In order to gain immortal life, one must kill another Reaper and devour their heart for every year they live past their natural lifespan. Doing so changes a Reaper, however. The act of killing another Reaper and feeding on their heart kills a part of the soul, the part which inspires kindness and sympathy for others. Any Reaper who commits this atrocious act will become a vile being living only a half life, a life without love or light of any kind._

 _A life of Eternal Dark._


	3. The Reforging

***A/N- I just wanted to give you all a quick thank you for reading this story and supporting me though it. And so I give you the final part of The Scarlet Reaper: The Reforging.**

 _The Grim is the only person living that knows the true story of the Kingdoms birth._

 _The Grim dynasty was forged in blood._

x

 _The Reforging_

Erza froze. There was a satisfied smirk on Kageyama's face that said he saw through her fake surprise to the real and greater shock below. She hadn't imagined that she was so transparent. How had he known? Amidst her panic it occurred to her that he might not know, that he could be fishing for a confession without any real proof.

"Excuse me?" Erza replied, relieved when her voice sounded properly confused. "Had I captured him I would already be escorting him back to the Grim for punishment."

"I don't doubt that if you captured him that would be true, but you haven't captured him have you? You joined him."

"How dare you accuse me of treason without grounds!" She snapped, her voice rising in anger. Even as she shouted at him, however, she knew her cover was blown. If he insisted to come in she would have no reason to refuse him, and she couldn't hide that Jellal had been there. She could have told him she'd chased him here and he'd fled, but if that had been true she would have mentioned it earlier. There was no way he was going to buy that story. Jellal must have realized this before Erza did, and decided to do something about it. She knew what he was going to do, but she couldn't imagine what came after this.

"Oh I have plenty of grounds. Enough for the Grim to give me authority to arrest you if you resist."

" _What?"_ Erza said, her surprise and rage genuine this time. "You've been told to arrest me?"

"Only if you are uncooperative," Kageyama said imperiously. _Jellal, hurry up,_ Erza thought. As if he could hear her thoughts, he appeared around the corner, her sedative coated needles in hand. Erza didn't so much as glance his way, she kept her eyes locked on Kageyama.

"How dare you suggest that I would ever betray the Grim," Erza said. "You've been interfering with me non-stop since I got back. Perhaps you think you'd do a better job of bringing Jellal in on your own."

"I do think so, especially since he's right behind me."

Surprise registered on Jellal's face, but that didn't stop his attack. Jellal flung the needles at Kageyama, but Kageyama dodged. It was because if this that he didn't see her kick coming. He slumped to the ground with a thud, and Erza grabbed him by the arm and dragged his unconscious body into the room. Five minutes later they had Kageyama stripped down to his underwear (to be sure he didn't have any hidden weapons) and tied up. Their room was completely packed and ready, and both Jellal and Erza were strapped with every weapon they could carry.

"What are we going to do with him?" Erza asked. "We can't leave him here, and we can't exactly take him with us."

"Why not?" Jellal said, "It's still possible to maintain your cover if he simply never turns back up."

"But where will we keep him?" Erza said. "Killing him isn't an option." Jellal nodded in agreement. He'd had enough of killing Reapers. He'd like to avoid staining his hands any further if possible.

"This moves up our time table a great deal, though," Jellal said, "people will come looking for him soon. We'll have to find a way to get into the throne room quickly." A thought came to Erza suddenly, fully formed, and she grinned.

"I know what we're going to do."

"What?" Jellal asked, glancing nervously at Kageyama. The sedative could wear off at any minute.

"I'm going to turn you in."

Jellal blinked, momentarily surprised, until the full glory of Erza's plan sank in, and he smiled. "You're brilliant."

x x x

There was still the matter of Kageyama. How would they sneak him out of the hotel? What would they do with him while they were preparing for their raid? They had him gagged and bound to prevent escape, but Erza doubted the human authorities would fail to notice two heavily armed people carrying an unconscious person through town. Waiting until nightfall would make sneaking him somewhere easier, but it also meant that they would have to hide in this room for another few hours. Hours in which someone could come looking for Kageyama and ambush them.

"Damn," Erza swore. "I must have done something wrong. How did he know where we were?"

"It's not your fault, Erza," Jellal said soothingly, placing a hand on the small of her back. He tried to, at least. Erza had so many hidden weapons, not to mention her Scythe and Katana strapped to her back, that he doubted she even felt him touch her. "Kageyama is the best at his job. It was only a matter of time." Erza growled.

"This messes everything up. How are we going to deal with this now?"

"We could still make it work. Worst case scenario we keep him drugged until the attack then knock him out and leave him somewhere. We could also pretend like he betrayed the Grim, and you could drag him back with me."

"I doubt they'd believe me if I said he betrayed them."

"Maybe not, Kageyama is ambitious. If you said I offered to make him my partner in ruling or something they might."

"You have a point." Kageyama chose stirred, then woke. He struggled against his bonds briefly before trying to scream through his gag. Footsteps in the hall paused, then ran in the other direction. Erza swore. She got to her feet and kicked Kageyama hard in the head, knocking him out again. Then, she started stripping off her weapons. Her scythe and katana hit the ground, then off came her cloak and the various knives that were strapped onto her chest.

"Um, Erza?" Jellal asked, supremely confused. Why was she disarming? Erza ignored him, taking off her gauntlets. Jellal's face flamed when she removed her shirt and cast it to the side, just as footsteps approached their room. Erza undid her belt as a knock sounded throughout the room. Jellal averted his eyes, and her pants dropped to the ground. Erza ran a hand through her hair, musing it. She let out a high pitched and very un-Erza-like giggle and answered the door, grinning mischievously.

"Hello?" She said, her tone matching the smile on her face. She leaned heavily against the doorway, tilting her head curiously.

"Oh-" came a startled male voice. Jellal couldn't see the person behind the door, but he had a feeling that their eyes were as wide as saucers right about now. "Um, we got a report of muffled screams, but obviously we got the wrong room."

"Oh no," Erza replied, giggling again in the same way. Jellal was a little concerned that Erza was even capable of producing a sound like that. "You've got the right room. My boyfriend and I were just having a little fun, I hope you understand." She smiled seductively at the man, who chuckled.

"Oh, oh. I see. I'll let that person know that there was nothing to worry about. Sorry to disturb you two."

"No problem, I'll let him know to be a little quieter." Jellal was sure that he could have fried an egg on his face, at hot as he was feeling. He was glad that her eyes weren't turned towards him. The man at the door chuckled again.

"Alright. You kids have fun."

"Oh," Erza said, lowering her voice suggestively, "I plan on it." She closed the door and added, for good measure. "You hear that sweetie, we worried the neighbors." Jellal gaped at her, open mouthed, as she began to dress again like nothing had just happened.

"That should buy us some time," Erza said, pulling her pants back on and tightening her belt. "I don't think that man will bother us again for a while." She noticed him staring as she pulled on her shirt. "What?"

"N-nothing," Jellal replied. looking away, "you just surprised me."

"Don't tell me your shy about that sort of thing," Erza teased, strapping on her knives and gauntlets again. Jellal elected not to reply to that, instead sitting down on the bed and glancing at the unconscious Kageyama. "So what are we going to do with him?" Erza asked as she finished dressing and arming herself.

"I don't know. We could leave him in some secluded place in the human world. It's not as if he'd be in any danger."

"What about the wildlife?" Erza reminded. Reapers couldn't be hurt by human steal, but they could be affected by the animals and humans themselves. While an animal bite might not kill a reaper, it would certainly hurt.

"He'll probably be fine," Jellal said, grimacing. "And if we make it through this we can send someone back for him, and if we don't they'll no doubt send out a search party."

"But how are we going to get him out of the hotel? I doubt the human authorities will take kindly to two heavily armed people carrying an unconscious body out of here."

"If we wait for dark it'll be easier to sneak him out," Jellal suggested, "but we still run the risk of being spotted."

"It's possible that Kageyama already reported back about where we were. This hiding place is burned. We should go sooner rather than later. We'll have to find a way to sneak him out and avoid notice."

"Do you think that it's possible that they have eyes on this hotel?"

"That's always possible. We might have to fight our way out," Erza said grimly. She walked across the hotel room and peered through the curtains. She checked all the shadows and hiding places she could see from her vantage point. "I don't see anyone, but that doesn't mean they're not there."

"If we have to fight our way out then your cover will be blown and we'll have to come up with a new way to get into the throne room."

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it, there's no guarantee we'll make it that far," Erza told him. Jellal nodded.

He joined Erza at the window and peered out, feeling his heart pound. Was this it? Was this the end of his quest for justice? If they were being watched then it was entirely possible that upon leaving the hotel they would be ambushed. Jellal regretted dragging Erza down with him. He should have never agreed to let her help him. He should have taken care of this on his own.

The alley across from them was shadowy and secluded, the perfect place for someone to hide. The dumpster there provided ample cover, and someone could see but not be seen. The surrounding buildings had low ridges on the roofs that could conceal a person. It was also possible that there were Reapers in the square disguised as humans and with concealed weapons. There was no certainty that there was anyone there at all, but they had to assume that there was. How were they going to get out of this mess?

"Any ideas?" Jellal asked, flicking the curtain closed again.

"I'm working on it," Erza replied. Her face was set and she was clearly deep in thought. She peered out of the window again, then appeared to come to a decision. She strode purposefully across the small room and slapped Kageyama hard on the face. He stirred painfully, and Erza slapped him again. His eyes snapped open, and he looked fully awake. Erza reached into her poison pouch and pulled out what Jellal recognized to be truth serum. He raised an eyebrow. Kageyama, as a spy, would have been trained to resist truth serum. What was she playing it? He watched curiously as she uncorked it, and instead of pulling out her dropper to administer the proper amount, she shoved the open end into his mouth and upturned the bottle.

Jellal choked in surprise. That amount of truth serum could be toxic, even to Kageyama who had been training since childhood to resist it. Erza clamped a hand over Kageyama's mouth and nose, so he had no choice but to swallow the full amount. When Erza removed her hand from Kageyama's mouth he was looking smug and triumphant.

"Oh Erza, your desperation is really cute. You should know that I am resistant to interrogation." Erza smiled evilly.

"Oh, you've been trained alright, but this is my own special blend. It's been much more effective in practice, although it's still experimental, which is why I haven't shown it to the Grim. Even I don't know what will happen now that you've ingested so much. It could be that you'll die."

Kageyama's eyes widened nearly imperceptibly, and Jellal wondered if he was beginning to feel the effects of the serum. He had no idea that Erza experimented with her own poisons and serums. Then again there were many things that he hadn't known about her, apparently. He wondered who she'd tested them on. Probably herself. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the mental image of Erza trying out a new poison on herself alone in her apartment and being unable to administer the antidote in time. He shuddered and gulped, then shook the image away. He didn't want to think about it.

"Have you already reported our location?" Kageyama looked like he was trying hard to ignore the question, but Jellal could see him struggling not to answer.

"N-no," he said at last.

"Why?" Erza demanded.

"b-Because they would have sent back up, and I wanted the glory of capturing you single-handedly." Erza chuckled quietly.

"I should have known," she said. "I should have known that you'd be too pretentious to call for help. You're too power hungry to do something like that." She turned to Jellal and grinned. "It seems we were worried for nothing, Jellal."

"Were you followed here?" Jellal asked Kageyama.

"No. No one could follow me here."

"Are you sure about that or is your vanity answering for you?"

"I made sure," Kageyama replied.

"He may be vain," Erza said, "but he's also good. If he didn't want to be followed then he wasn't."

"We're grateful for your skill," Jellal said, giving him a mock bow. Kageyama rolled his eyes and didn't respond. Apparently the truth serum did nothing for his bad attitude.

"Well this makes things significantly simpler. We can wait for nightfall to sneak Kageyama out, and in the meantime we can decide how we are going to do this," Erza said. At the speed of light Erza's hand whipped out a needle dipped in sedative and plunged it into Kageyama's neck. In a few seconds he was out, and Erza stood. She removed her two largest weapons and sat down on the bed. Jellal did the same, placing his staff on the ground next to Erza's scythe.

"So how are we going to do this?" Jellal asked.

Jellal and Erza were running side by side. Jellal had Kageyama thrown over his shoulder, and Erza was carrying their bags. They were running for the forest outside of town, where they would set up camp and leave Kageyama when the time came for their mission. They were quiet while they ran. Each of them had a lot on their mind. Erza was focused on imagining everything that could go wrong in their plans and coming up with contingency plans for her contingency plans. A glance over at Jellal told her that he was also deep in thought, but she didn't need to ask in order to know what he was thinking.

"Stop worrying so much," she said. "What will happen will happen, and none of it is your fault if I get hurt. I knew it was a possibility when I decided to join you." Jellal nodded, but didn't speak.

Erza knew that no matter what she said to him he would blame himself for whatever happened to her, so she would just have to make extra sure that nothing would happen to her to save him the guilt. No matter what happened today, she planned on fighting her hardest. If it came to it she would flee with Jellal and try again later. Now that she knew of the Grim's corruption she would stop at nothing to overthrow him.

But did she have the power to stop him? The Grim was the most powerful of the Reapers, even with both her and Jellal, would they be able to defeat him? It would be possible if they were able to sneak into the throne room before hand and lay a few traps, but in plain combat she doubted her chances. She'd have to come up with some sort of strategy to beat him. But how? His skill was the reason no one had opposed him so far. It's how he created this kingdom all those centuries ago, and it's how he kept it during the one rebellion that had been organized during his reign.

Erza thought back to her history lessons, trying her best to remember what the textbooks had said about it. If she remembered correctly then no detail had been given in the book, only that a few hundred Reapers that had failed their training and been denied their certification had gotten together and tried to storm the castle. They'd been slaughtered, and no one had ever tried to do it again. Now that Erza knew what she knew, however, she was sure this story was neither complete nor true. She looked at Jellal again. He might know more about it than her, he'd always paid more attention in history class than her.

"Tell me what you know about the Uncertified Reaper Rebellion," She said. Jellal gave her a surprised look, but didn't ask any questions.

"It was about one hundred and fifty years after the founding of the empire. There were more uncertified Reapers than usual, because the Grim revised the regulations and made the exam more difficult. That much is undisputable fact. There's too much evidence supporting it for me to believe that part was a lie told by the King."

"And what about the disputable?"

"The official story is that even the certified Reapers had to retake the exams, and some of them had their certifications revoked. These were the ones that decided they were going to rebell against the Grim and take their lives back. They manipulated other people who had failed, some of them the kids who weren't able to graduate with their class because of it and were emotionally vulnerable. They spent a few months organizing, then attempted to lay siege to the castle and demand that the Grim give up his throne or die. They were slaughtered outside the castle gates because of their inferior skills."

"And what do you think really happened?" Erza asked.

"There are lots of conflicting stories about what really happened. The people who don't believe the Grim have to be careful about what they say or they might disappear. The most popular theory is that the Grim was taking away licenses from those who didn't agree with him, and they were the one's who rebelled, not Reapers who were angry about failing the exam. Most believe that the battle was much closer than the Grim would have us believe, and he spread around the story of the total annihilation of the rebels so that no one would ever oppose him again."

"Is that what you believe?" Jellal shook his head.

"I met this old man once who claimed to have been a part of the rebellion back then."

"But that's impossible. No one can live that long but the Grim. It's been centuries."

"I don't know about that, he was pretty convincing. I could feel the power and the ages emanating from him."

"Well what did he say?" Erza pressed.

"He said he used to be the Grim's right hand man, that he was the most trusted man in the court, but one day he saw something he shouldn't have. Something that the Grim didn't want seen."

"What did he see?"

"He claimed that he saw evidence that the Grim wasn't the benevolent ruler he made himself out to be. He said he found letters written fifty years before then, about how he's lived this long. The man wouldn't tell me what it was, but from the look on his face it had to have been terrible.

"There was also evidence of his blood thirst, that he ventured out into the streets and abducted other Reapers to torture and kill. I don't know how much of it was true and how much of it was the ravings of a mad old man, but he seemed convinced, and terrified. I never told anyone about seeing him, but the next week when I went to check on him he was gone. There were no signs of a struggle, no hint of where he'd gone. It was if he'd just walked out to get groceries and never come back."

"When did this happen?"

"About a year ago."

"You never told me."

"I didn't tell anyone. I didn't know what to think about it. It was possible the man had just wandered off and gotten lost, but it was also possible that he'd been taken. I didn't want to cause you worry about something that could have been nothing."

They were deep in the forest now, surrounded by nothing but trees. They slowed to a stop next to a clear stream and set down their burdens. Erza placed their bags under a nearby tree and Jellal plopped Kageyama unceremoniously onto the ground.

"How long until the anesthetic wears off?" Jellal asked.

"Another hour, should be. When he wakes up we'll let him eat and drink before putting him back to sleep." Jellal nodded.

"How long should we wait before we attack?" He asked. "We need to make proper preparations, and maybe stage a battle to make it look like you really brought me in."

"I think a few days will be enough, we're about as ready as we'll ever be, plus the longer we keep Kageyama captive the more suspicious we'll look coming in without him." Jellal nodded again.

"You're right. There's little we could do to help our situation, unless we could somehow lay traps beforehand."

"I was thinking the same thing, but how would we sneak in to do that? All the portals will be under watch."

"Without Kageyama's testimony they have nothing against you, there's no reason for them to stop you."

"There's no reason for me to be admitted into the throne room without you in hand."

"True." They were both quiet for a few minutes, trying to imagine what they could do to increase their chances.

"We'll have to work with what we have."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day at dusk they stood facing each other in the middle of an open field surrounded by trees. The field was far enough away from civilization that they would avoid human casualties, but close enough that they would be noticed. Kageyama was unconscious and concealed in the bushes. They gave each other small nods before they began. After that Erza took a deep breath and attacked.

"This is the end of the road Jellal!" She cried, leaping at him with her scythe. She swung viciously for his throat, a very convincing snarl splitting her face. Jellal ducked out of the way, twisting and throwing a dagger at Erza's back. He had a split second of worry when he thought she wouldn't dodge it, but the moment passed when Erza spun the handle of her scythe up lightning fast and knocked the dagger out of the air. Jellal noted where it fell so he could retrieve it later, and then refocused on the fight.

Jellal spun his staff above his head, preparing for Erza's next attack. When she drew within striking distance again he brought it down. The increased momentum he'd gained from spinning it above his head made the attack significantly stronger, so much so that when Erza blocked his attack with the handle of her scythe she sunk into the soft ground a few inches. He saw approval flicker in her eyes briefly before she ducked down, aiming a punch at his midsection. He was unable to block it in time, and all the air whooshed out of him as her fist connected.

Jellal jumped away, coughing, and began trying to find a weak spot that he could attack. Erza had told him not to throw his attacks, that way anyone watching would be able to tell if he wasn't really trying, but Jellal still didn't want to hurt Erza so badly that she couldn't fight once they made it into the throne room. So that left the two of them locked in a sort of high stakes dance, where one misstep from either of them could end with someone getting maimed or killed. Jellal was sure Erza was making the same calculations as him from where she stood.

Where could he hit her that wouldn't cause lasting damage? What injuries could she sport into the throne room to make herself look battle worn but not unfit to fight? Where could he draw blood that would clot quickly and not make her weak? There weren't many pieces of exposed skin on her, she was fully armored, but all armor had weaknesses. Jellal had the advantage of knowing where all the weaknesses in her armor were so he could plan where to hit her. Erza had the same advantage of him, although he wasn't as heavily armored as her. He decided that his best bet would to be to go for her face next.

He placed his staff back in its sheath on his back and drew two daggers. Erza narrowed her eyes but didn't question the action. He spun them in his hands so that the blade lay across his arm and ran at Erza, holding the daggers in a battle ready position. Fighting with two smaller weapons had it's advantages when facing off against a person who was using one large weapon. Mobility for one, Jellal was able to move certain ways with only his truncheons that were impossible when he was using his staff. Larger weapons limited mobility, and were cumbersome during some evasive maneuvers. However, the reason Erza was known as such a formidable opponent was that she had overcome most of the limitations her larger weapon brought her.

She did so now when he came at her, aiming his knives for her chest. She plunged the end of her scythe into the ground and let go. It stood where she left it as Erza dodged Jellal's strikes. Unencumbered, she outmatched Jellal in speed, though only just. There were a number of close encounters where Jellal's blades almost came into contact with vital points of her body. Jellal's heart jolted every time that happened, but he never pulled his punches, because he knew Erza could dodge him.

Out of nowhere Jellal's head snapped back, and he felt something warm and thick trickling down his neck. He stumbled back a few steps, taken aback by Erza's surprise attack. She'd uppercut him with a dagger in hand, slicing part of his neck and the underside of his jaw. She'd narrowly missed hitting a vein in his neck, and though the proximity startled him, he knew she wouldn't have went for his neck if she wasn't entirely sure that she wouldn't seriously hurt him. He reached up and touched the wound, and the tips of his fingers came away red. Already the blood was beginning to soak the collar of his shirt, but he ignored that. It would stop bleeding soon, hopefully.

Out of the back of his mind came his competitive nature. He couldn't believe he'd let Erza draw the first blood. She'd be impossible after this. It had been an ongoing contest between them as children before they'd been separated for their training. The smirk on Erza's face let him know that She was thinking the same thing. He could practically hear her gloating already. He knew he'd have to be quick to follow or it would be even worse. If she had to _let_ him draw her blood for the sake of realism he'd never hear the end of it.

He began attacking in full force again, wiping the blood from his hands so it wouldn't interfere with his grip. Erza's scythe still stood where she had left it, and she too held two daggers in her hand. Jellal could tell he'd ignited her competitiveness as well. He knew he could best her in single handed weapons, however. Both of Erza's main weapons were two handed, so he had more practice.

He lunged, fainting to the left, then attacking to the right. Erza, of course, saw this coming, but Jellal was faster. She couldn't quite block his stab, and his blade skimmed the back of her fingers and hand. While Erza's gauntlet protected the back of her hand, it left her fingers exposed. Although it was meager, Jellal had managed to draw Erza's blood. Erza scoffed, as if to say _that doesn't count._ After that the violence and speed of the fight escalated.

Jellal lunged forward with his dagger, and Erza spun out of the way. Mid spin she tucked away her daggers and brought out her weighted chain. He'd been wondering when it would make an appearance. It shot through the air, bending to Erza's will like a living thing. Jellal was forced into a backflip to avoid it, and he tucked away his daggers in the air. Instead he brought out his truncheons, his most effective defense against the chain.

It felt great to have them in his hands again after such a long time without them, it was almost like being born again. He'd had no idea how badly he'd missed them during his first fight with Erza until now. The next time that Erza cast the weighted chain at him he used one truncheon to block it, then used the other to wrench the chain out of Erza's hands. If Erza was surprised by him managing to disarm her she didn't show it. Her daggers were in her hands before the chain had even settled and she was leaping forward to attack.

Now that Jellal had his truncheons in hand, however, he was nearly unstoppable. Although he was a terrifyingly powerful force with his main weapon, his skill with his secondary was legendary. People often wondered why he chose to use the staff as his main weapon, and sometimes he wondered that himself. Maybe there was a part of him that still wanted to spite those people who'd told him he wouldn't be able to master the staff.

He was able to block each attack that Erza tried to land effortlessly. With the ease of a practiced motion, Jellal flipped his right truncheon in his hand and made the same uppercut to her that she'd cut him with earlier. She, unlike he, saw the attack coming and was able to lean back enough to avoid breaking her jaw. Jellal was relieved, but didn't relent. He continued attacking savagely, planting what he hoped was a convincing snarl on his face. The look of focus and intense anger on Erza's face was convincing, but he'd always been a terrible liar.

Erza's entire body shifted, and her leg swung up through the air, colliding with his jaw and sending him sprawling back. His tongue had the misfortune of being caught in between his teeth, and suffered a terrible trauma. He tumbled over the ground before managing to right himself, spitting out the blood that filled his mouth and wincing. He wouldn't be having anything salty for the foreseeable future.

Erza jumped at him and leapt into the air, thrusting her leg down for a vicious kick to the soft spot on his shoulder. Jellal crossed his truncheons above his head, catching her leg and blocking the kick. Before he could use this position to throw her across the field she turned in the air and kicked him hard in the head with her other foot. The blow set his ears to ringing and made his vision go black for a few seconds. Erza landed in a crouch a few paces away from him, but was already moving in for another attack by the time his vision cleared enough to see her.

Jellal spun out of the way and aimed a strike with his truncheon at her back. Erza spun to meet the blow with her daggers. While she managed to deflect the worst of the attack, the small daggers were no match for the solid steel rod Jellal had attacked with, and they were knocked out of her hands. Erza winced, and Jellal wondered if he'd broken any of her fingers. He didn't take time to see if she were okay though, he spun his truncheons in his hand and leapt at Erza, spinning to give his attack more power. Erza leapt over his swing, backflipping away from him and snatching up her weighted chain from where it lay on the ground. As soon as she wrapped her fingers around it it seemed to animate, coiling and striking like a snake.

Erza used her chain to attack him from a distance, and she was careful not to let it be taken away from her again. She threw the chain and Jellal leapt to the side to avoid it, but a flick of her wrist brought the weight coiling back in his direction. It came at him from behind and wrapped around his neck. He barely had time to thrust his hand between the chain and his throat before it tightened. If he hadn't managed to slip his hand into the loop the chain would have choked off his air, and even though he had his breathing was restricted. Erza began pulling on the chain, dragging him closer to her as she made her way slowly to where she left her scythe. Jellal dug in his heels, but could still feel himself being dragged after her.

Erza glanced away from him to look for her scythe, and that's when Jellal acted. He spun around, untangling himself from the chain, and leapt at her. When Erza turned back to face him, her fingers mere inches from her scythe, he had already closed the gap between them. Jellal slammed his truncheons back into their sheaths and whipped out his scythe, swinging downward towards the same soft spot on Erza that she had targeted on him earlier. Erza tried to dodge, but moved too slow. She cried out as Jellal's staff made contact with her shoulder. Her armor there was light, so it absorbed some of the blow, but left Erza taking the brunt of the attack. Her knee collapsed and she hit the ground, but didn't stop to recoup. Erza swung for his groin with her other hand, and he jumped out of the way.

Erza lunged and took her scythe in hand at last, leaping after him. Jellal continued to back away as Erza pursued. He quickly reached the edge of the clearing and leapt into the trees. Erza followed him as fast as he fled, cutting any branches that got in her way while Jellal had to duck and dodge. The branches would restrict her to her scythe and daggers, however, her chain would only become tangled. As he leapt from tree to tree Jellal wondered why he had never thought of fighting Erza in the canopy before, it certainly was interesting. Despite the rather dire circumstances surrounding their fake battle, Jellal found himself having fun. He was no longer worrying about hurting Erza, as he had dealt several major blows and she hadn't even slowed down. He was starting to feel some fatigue himself, and his many wounds were bothering him a little, but not so much that he was going to call it quits.

The confinement of the canopy had its effects on Jellal as well, he was forced to put away his staff, as it was too large and would only catch on things. He brought out his daggers and was following Erza's example and simply cut down anything in his way. He sent up a silent apology to all the animals he was no doubt forcing out of their homes, but there was nothing else to be done. This battle was his supposed last stand against Erza, and he needed it to look intense. He had a reputation as a fearsome warrior to uphold.

Deciding he'd run for long enough, he leapt up, over the tops of the trees. He put away his daggers and whipped out his staff as Erza followed him into the sky. He swung his staff at her, which she blocked. Lightning fast, he let go of his staff with one hand and drew a truncheon, slamming it into the soft part of her side. His sudden move surprised her, and his attack landed, knocking her out of the air and back to the ground. Jellal fell after her, and he could hear her slamming and crashing into branches as he used his staff to hook a branch and remain above ground. There was a resounding thud and more crashing as Erza hit the ground and rolled through the brush.

Jellal barely had time enough to worry that he'd gone overboard when Erza launched into the canopy, much worse for wear. Her clothing was tattered and her armor scuffed. There was a gash on her stomach that looked like she had hit a branch the wrong way going down. Every inch of her exposed skin was riddled with tiny cuts that made Jellal think she'd rolled into a thorn bush. Jellal would have felt bad, except there was a fire burning in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Erza was finally having fun.

Jellal leapt from his branch to a different one, once again pulling out his daggers. Erza followed him, darting through the trees like a bolt of scarlet lightning. Jellal couldn't help but notice the way her hair fanned out behind her when she landed, and the way it trailed behind her as she flew through the air, a stark contrast to the deep green of the leaves. Her skin was riddled with small cuts from landing in the thorn bush. She was covered from head to toe in blood. That, paired with her tattered cloak, made her look like a figure from the legends the humans told. A beautiful monster that used her looks to lure men in before killing them.

Jellal's heart missed a beat as his foot slipped. He had enough time to curse himself for getting distracted before he hit the ground and the air rushed out of him. Seconds later Erza landed on top of him and pressed her dagger to his throat, grinning. Jellal tried to free himself from her grip, but couldn't. He found himself pinned to the ground in much the same fashion he had pinned Erza to the ground only a few days earlier. He was hopelessly stuck.

"You should be more careful, Jellal," Erza said. To anyone who might be listening it sounded like she was taunting him, but Jellal knew he was being scolded.

"Forgive me," Jellal said sardonically, "I was a little distracted." Erza quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't comment on that.

"It's over Jellal, you're coming with me to see the Grim. It's time to pay the piper."

"You know I'm not going to come quietly, Erza," Jellal said softly.

"I didn't expect you too Jellal, which is why I've inserted a paralytic into your veins." Jellal felt his eyes widen, and he looked down at himself, seeing Erza pulling a needle from the exposed skin in his arm. _That_ hadn't been part of the plan. Erza had likely improvised it. She climbed off him and stood, brushing herself off briefly before leaning over and throwing Jellal over her shoulder. Jellal couldn't make himself be surprised at Erza's upper body strength. "Don't worry," she mumbled as she stood, "there wasn't much on that needle, it'll just keep you still until I can walk back to that field and collect the daggers I dropped there."

Jellal would have nodded, but he was paralyzed, so he settled for affirmative silence. The walk to the field took much longer than he expected. They seemed to have gotten pretty far without realizing it. Then again Jellal hadn't been paying attention to the distance that he'd traveled, he'd only been paying attention to Erza.

She stayed stoically silent on the entire walk back, although Jellal knew her mind must be racing. No doubt the two of them were being watched by now, so they had to keep up appearances, which is why Erza had poisoned him. The paralytic was weak and already starting to wear off, but their audience had to believe that he'd really been bested. Unfortunately he really had been. He still couldn't believe he'd gotten so clumsy as to get distracted and fall from the trees. At least he'd put up a decent fight. The two of them were both covered in blood and probably looked like hell. That would go a long way to convincing the castle guards to not bother Erza when she approached the throne room with a wanted fugitive slung over her shoulder.

They made it to the clearing and Erza tossed him to the ground none too gently. She went and collected her daggers, first checking on Kageyama under the pretense of having forgotten exactly where her weapons had fallen. Erza probably knocked him out again, then left him concealed in the bushes.

Jellal surveyed what he could see of the scene from where he landed. There were gashes in the ground, and dark stains that looked like blood. He couldn't see where he'd jumped into the trees, but he was sure anyone surveying the scene would be able to track their path easily. Jellal was beginning to regain feeling in his limbs, but he didn't test them out. If they were being watched then him moving would bring suspicion. A few moments later Erza returned and picked Jellal back up.

"Have you regained sensation?" Erza mumbled to him, then said louder, "now it's time you met your fate."

"I have," Jellal whispered.

Erza made a hand gesture, mumbled some words, and opened the gate into the Reaper World. Jellal could feel her muscles tense as she walked through the gate and stepped into the Reaper World.

x

Almost immediately Jellal was encompassed by awed whispers as Erza stepped through the gate. He scanned the scene with his eyes, taking in his surroundings. He could tell from the scenery that Erza had taken the gate closest to the castle that commoners were allowed to use. There was one in the public gardens inside the castle, and there was rumored to be one somewhere else in the castle that only the Grim knew the location of, but only the nobles and a select few of the more influential reapers were allowed to use those.

Jellal and Erza had both been counted in that number at one time, but Erza must have decided to use this one in case she had been blocked from it. There were a lot of nasty rumors about what happened to people who tried to pass through the gates in the castle grounds, but neither Jellal nor Erza had been foolish enough to attempt it before they'd been given clearance.

Even though Jellal knew this was all just an act, he couldn't help but be a little embarrassed about the position he was in. What must he look like to them, a fugitive thrown carelessly over the shoulder of the kingdom's most celebrated reaper? At least Erza was covered in as much, if not more, blood than him. That would make it obvious he hadn't gone down easily.

"Is that Heaven's Rebel?" Some whispered.

"Look at all the blood, he must have put up quite a fight."

"That murderer will finally be brought to justice." Jellal gritted his teeth. Soon all these people will know the truth. Soon they will understand how corrupt the Royal Family really was. Of course, he didn't expect convincing the people would be easy, it would probably be the hardest part of this mission. In order to win over the people Jellal and Erza would need to convince the nobles to revolt as well. Jellal wasn't sure about how they would make that happen, but he was sure they would find a way. Erza was on good terms with several of them, and before this whole ordeal Jellal had considered some of them friends.

Word travelled fast that Erza Scarlet, The Scarlet Reaper, was bringing in Heaven's Rebel. The streets were lined with spectators, people who were eager to see the spectacle of one of the nation's top reapers, and most wanted, on his way to be executed at the castle. Jellal couldn't blame them for the cheering, although he did find it a little disheartening. These people weren't cheering for his demise he told himself, they were cheering for the death of the man they thought he was. He only hoped that he would get the chance to prove they were wrong about him.

There was always a chance that he would die as a traitor to the kingdom, however.

As they neared the castle Jellal felt his adrenaline start pumping. His heart was racing, and his senses were sharpening as they always did when he was gearing up for a serious fight. The hisses and boos of the crowd faded away until all that was left were the potentially dangerous sounds. Weapons clanking, death threats, and the distant sounds of guards marching around the palace. But no, the sounds of those military boots were getting closer. The Grim had heard of their approach and was sending a detail of soldiers to receive them. Jellal tensed, fist closing around the small dagger he'd concealed in his hand.

Erza stiffened as well, and Jellal knew either she had heard the soldiers as well, or felt him tense and known he sensed danger. Jellal listened as the soldiers marched closer and closer, and as they did the crowds energy seemed to increase. There was more cheering than hissing now. Jellal had never realized how far from the castle this gate was.

He could feel how Erza was holding herself, straight and proud with her chin held high, like a warrior coming home from battle. He wondered what exactly was going on in her mind right now. The marching boots stopped in perfect synchronicity.

"Halt!" The man cried. Erza did no such thing. "Stop and declare yourself!" This time Erza did stop, but she brought herself up to her fullest height, and declared in a clear and carrying voice.

"My name is Erza Scarlet, and I have brought the traitor, Heaven's Rebel!" The crowd exploded into cheers for Erza and boos for Jellal.

Erza winced internally. She had chosen this gate to try and avoid a commotion like this, but she supposed a mile was enough distance to gather up a crowd after all. She wished she could have used the entrance in the castle grounds, but she hadn't wanted to risk it.

"We will accompany you to the castle gate," the same soldier replied, in the same tone of voice Erza had used.

Erza marched in the middle of the soldiers, three paces from each of them. There were eight in all, Jellal discovered, three to their front and rear, and one on each side. They marched in formation all the way to the castle, not looking at or reacting to the cheering and jeering crowds around them. The people were glad to see their prince's murderer being taken in. He imagined this is what the crowd would have been like on his execution day, had he bothered to wait around and find out.

They reached the castle gate at last, and all but two of the guards peeled off their escort. Those two walked in front of them, declaring them, opening doors, and clearing the corridors for them. Erza was being treated like royalty, and if this had been real no doubt she'd be offered a title and an estate. After climbing several flights of stairs and walking several more corridors Jellal recognized the hallways leading to the throne room.

He had to give Erza credit, she'd carried him all this way, injured, and she wasn't even breathing hard. He knew he wasn't light, especially since he hadn't been disarmed (another reason he was pretending to be paralyzed, so he would be allowed to keep his weapons). He heard the well oiled doors to the throne room swing open, and Erza entered, her two guards stayed at the door.

Typically, one would stand a few paces past the entrance and wait to be invited to come closer to the throne, but Erza marched straight past that point and stopped only ten feet away from where the Grim sat, raised above the rest in his throne. He saw the many guards lining the walls tense when Erza breezed past the standard stopping point, but they relaxed, and Jellal assumed they'd received a signal to stand down from the Grim.

Jellal was dumped unceremoniously on the ground, then forced back up onto his knees by Erza, who was treating him quite roughly. She pulled his head back so he was forced to look at the Grim, then spoke.

"I brought you a gift, Your Majesty," Erza said. "I have finally captured your grandson's murderer."

"I see that," The Grim replied, rising from his throne.

Jellal glared at him, not bothering to conceal his hatred. He scanned the room out of the corner of his eyes, trying to size up the battle they were about to face. There were at least a dozen guards, plus the Grim. He was armed, though not heavily. Jellal knew that didn't make him less dangerous, however. The Grim was the most dangerous thing in this room. Jellal didn't doubt he could take on a fully armed Erza bare handed. They'd have to work together to win this fight, and they'd probably have to fight dirty.

"Summon the nobles!" The Grim declared, "let us all celebrate this monster's capture together!" Jellal felt a jolt of fear lance through him. The nobles were all powerful reapers, he and Erza hadn't planned on fighting them as well. Erza's hand tightened on Jellal's shoulder. Jellal's mind was flying, trying to adjust their plans in his head, and he knew that Erza was doing the same.

It might be possible to convince some of the nobles to fight with him, but Jellal doubted it. They'd have to fight all of them. _This could also be a good thing,_ he thought. If we can coax a confession out of the King in the middle of the battle, and the nobles hear, they'd turn against him for sure.

Erza's had one hand restraining his hands behind his back, and another held a knife at his throat, keeping him sufficiently 'restrained'. Erza used their proximity to whisper a message to him while the Grim was distracted. "Use Paralytics." Those two words were all Jellal needed to hear to understand what Erza's plan was. He had to hide his smile. It was brilliant.

A few silent moments passed in which one of the guards offered to chain Jellal so her hands would be free, which she refused none too kindly. "You idiots are the ones that let him escape last time, I'll keep my eyes on him at all times, thanks." The Grim laughed loudly at this, and waved the guard away from Erza.

"She's right," he said. "I'll feel safer if she's the one restraining him." Jellal almost laughed out loud at the irony of that statement, but managed to conceal his amusement. It wouldn't do to tip off the Grim that something wasn't right. The element of surprise was one of their only advantages. "I am aware that all the nobles aren't at the castle now, summon the ones that are!" The Grim exclaimed at a frightened looking young reaper who had the appearance of a child trying on their father's armor. The boy nodded and scampered away, looking relieved to be able to leave the Grim's presence.

It was a few more minutes before all the nobles filed in, looking shocked and impressed to see Jellal kneeling before the King, a knife pressed into his throat. Jellal scanned the faces, and several of them were Reapers he knew. Some of them seemed highly uncomfortable and making great efforts to avoid his gaze. That was good, he would want to face those in battle to try and win them over. Others made bold eye contact with him, even going so far as to mock him. Those he would simply defeat and let the Grim do his work for him. Even more guards filed in and stood stoically at the walls, though Jellal didn't know why they bothered. The Grim and the Nobles were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. As far as Jellal could tell there was a fairly even mix of the strongest and weaker nobles. Including all the guards he and Erza were outnumbered twenty to one, not including the Grim.

As the last of the guards filed in, The Grim motioned for the doors to be closed. Jellal sighed inwardly. If the doors were closed he could simply block it and no more guards would be able to flood in once the fight started. Jellal watched the men and women around him warily, waiting for Erza to give him the signal. Finally, as the Grim called for order, she gave it. She pressed a needle coated in what Jellal knew was her strongest paralytic into his hands and said quietly, "now!"

Four nobles went down before anyone realized something had happened. Two more before any weapons were drawn. While Erza whipped out her scythe and ran fingers down the blade, coating it as well, Jellal sprinted for the door, knocking anyone who opposed him out of the way. There were four guards standing at the door, no doubt thinking he was going to make a bid for freedom. They definitely weren't expecting him to lock himself inside a room with the Grim.

"What is the meaning of this, Scarlet?" The Grim shouted. Jellal chanced a glance over his shoulder, and saw the Grim, that pretentious bastard, had retreated to his throne and was reclining comfortably, expecting this little outburst to be squashed by his guards and nobility. Jellal turned back to his task and knocked out a guard- they only needed the Nobility conscious.

"I have heard and discovered the real truth behind the Prince's death for myself," Erza declared, disarming a guard and kicking her across the room. "And it is not as you have said!" Jellal spun to avoid an attack from a lower ranking noble, and saw the expression on the Grim's face change. Jellal smirked. Now he was worried.

"Guards! Obviously this girl has been brainwashed by the Rebel! Silence her at once!"

" _Yes sir!"_ The Loyalists cried.

Jellal didn't let himself linger on what the word _silence_ implied. Instead, he struck a guard so hard in the head with a staff the man crumpled to the ground, his helmet flying to his head. Jellal leapt over his body and reached for the invasion board. It would be a challenge to block the door on his own, but his adrenaline was pumping, and he lifted the long steel beam himself. He twisted his waist and used it to knock down everyone within striking distance. Once that was finished he slid the beam into place and picked up his staff as the people he had just knocked down climbed back to their feet, looking confused. Furious, but confused.

"You have it all wrong!" Jellal cried to the surrounding nobility as he blocked and dodged their attacks. "I'm not the one you should be attacking! Your King is a killer!"

"How dare you speak ill of the king after you murdered his grandson!" One of the weaker nobles cried, leaping forward in rage.

Though the woman may have been weaker than the others, she was nothing to laugh at. All the nobles were very strong, and this woman was also very loyal. Jellal palmed a paralytic coated needle and blocked the woman's attack. This woman had only a short sword, but she moved like the wind, all deadly grace and intent to kill. Jellal blocked her attack, but didn't see her vicious kick to the side coming. He'd never seen this woman fight, like he had some of the others. It seemed she was also proficient in martial arts. A blow to the back of his head made him see stars and caused him to fall off balance.

He spun and struck blindly with his staff. He heard bone crunch and a scream of pain, and when his vision cleared he saw a guard hit the ground, clutching at his arm. Jellal spun again, just in time to block an attack from the same noble woman.

 _Focus, Jellal._ He thought, _Listen._

Jellal focused his sight on the woman, but his hearing on listening for the tell tale swishing of their weapons through the air. Jellal took a step back from the woman and began swinging his staff, faster and faster, ducking and weaving and swinging. He attacked, parried, blocked, and dodged, all the while his staff was nothing more than a gray blur in the air. Jellal was completely surrounded, but his opponents were dropping like flies.

Erza was in much the same situation. Her scythe sang as it met other blades and weapons, and blood was flying, coating the floor, and her clothes. She had yet to deal a mortal wound, but had given several of the guards serious injuries that knocked them out of the fight for good. Her blades were coated in paralytic, she'd taken her chance to prepare them before the fight began, but she knew Jellal's weren't. If Erza's blade so much as skimmed a person's bare flesh their entire limb would go numb, but if she dealt them anything more serious they would lose control of their facilities until well after this fight would be concluded.

"Jellal!" Erza cried, whipping one of her daggers free and tossing it over the heads of their attackers to Jellal. He looked up just in time to catch it and use it to stab the woman he was fighting. Erza recognized her, but couldn't remember her name. The woman went down, and Jellal stowed away his staff. He instead drew one of his truncheons. He looked oddly off balance with one dagger and one truncheon, but he didn't seem bothered. In fact, now that he had a blade, he seemed even faster. Three more guards were down and bleeding within minutes.

Erza turned her attention back to the Grim as she flipped out of the way of an oncoming attack. He wasn't reclining disinterestedly anymore, but watching the fights intently.

"Your grandson was a killer! He murdered three Reapers that we know of in cold blood, and you helped him cover it up!" If Erza hadn't been watching specifically for a reaction, she would have missed his. His jaw clenched and his fists clenched on the armrests of this throne, but otherwise he seemed unaffected by her proclaiming the truth. A cry of outrage brought her attention back to her fight.

Azuma, one of the more powerful nobles, screamed, then attacked her full force.

"How dare you address the king with your treacherous tongue and accuse him of such nonsensical atrocities?"

"It's not nonsense, Azuma!" Erza replied with both her lips and her scythe, striking out with all her ferocity and speed. Somehow, though, Azuma dodged both.

"Silence!" Azuma was a reaper renowned for hand-to-hand combat. His main weapons were a pair of reinforced metal gloves that he used to increase the power of his strikes. They were a customized weapon that he designed himself. They allowed him to catch the blade of her scythe in his hands and remain unharmed.

He did so now, thrusting the blade away from himself and knocking Erza off balance. The noble behind her, a woman Erza had never spoken too, seized the opportunity to knock Erza off her feet. Erza's back struck the ground and her breath rushed out of her, but she didn't slow down. Her hand flew to her waist and brought out one of her coated needles. The woman didn't even see it coming. She hit the ground next to Erza with a thud. Erza rolled to her feet just in time to avoid a downward kick aimed at her head by a guard. Erza swung her scythe at the boy, blade behind the head, and knocked him across the room and out cold.

"I see you aren't pulling your punches for the weaklings," Azuma said. "I can respect that."

"I take all my opponents seriously," Erza said, leaping in for another attack. Azuma blocked that one too. He also saw the poisoned needle coming and knocked it out of the air.

"And yet you aren't killing any of us, only knocking us out, why is that?" He asked, as if he was merely making polite conversation at a dinner party. His tone didn't change as Erza aimed a slash at his chest, a blow that would have killed him if it had connected.

Erza didn't want to kill anyone, but She'd heard of Azuma, and intended to wrap this fight up quickly. Azuma was incredibly powerful and skilled, and he was one of the most powerful nobles.

"Stand down!" Erza cried. "This empire is corrupt to its core! The Royals commit the vilest of vile empires! It's time the Reaper kingdom was reforged!"

"Reforged you say?" Azuma said. "Well you'll have to forge it in my blood, because I'll die before I let the likes of you rule!"

"We are not seeking the throne!" Erza cried, leaping at Azuma again, He blocked her attack once more. Erza had yet to give Azuma so much as a scratch thanks to his gloves.

She put away her scythe and whipped out her daggers, going for speed rather than size. Azuma was strong, but big, and unable to move as quickly as her. If she could only get close enough to land one solid blow on him this battle would be over. Azuma was faster than she gave him credit for, however. Even now she was still struggling to hit him. Erza thought to herself that she may have finally met her match.

As she thought this, Azuma landed a massive punch on her, knocking her across the room. She hit the wall hard and felt her ankle crack. It wasn't broken, but it also couldn't hold all of her weight. She heard Jellal shout out a reminder to her from the middle of his own fight.

"Erza, _don't lose!"_ Those three words gave her the strength to get to her feet and reinforced her resolve.

 _No,_ she thought, _I will not accept defeat!_ It was time for her to bring out all of her tricks.

In the blink of an eye the daggers disappeared, and the weighted chain reappeared. She reached behind her and did something that not even Jellal saw coming, because no one but Natsu, Lucy, and Gray had ever seen it. Erza detached the blade of her scythe and attached a hook at the bottom to the chain, then began swinging it, giving it more velocity. Azuma's jaw dropped. He'd had no idea Erza was proficient with the chain scythe. No one but her team did. It was a closely kept secret, as the element of surprise is one's best weapon.

Once the scythe head got going fast enough, Erza leapt back into battle with Azuma. He blocked her first attack, but the second came almost immediately after with the fluidity Erza was famous for with her weighted chain. Azuma barely dodged this time, Erza's blade shearing off some of his hair.

Erza pulled one hand close to her heart while sending the other out as far from herself as it could go, summoning her blade back to her and the weight out into battle. Azuma sidestepped the chain, but Erza flicked her wrist and the weight changed direction mid air. It coiled and struck, then finally constricted around Azuma's legs like a boa. As soon as the chain wrapped around him Erza pulled on her end with all her might, throwing her weight into her attempt to pull Azuma off his feet. Unfortunately, he weighed too much for even her. Erza had expected this, however. She sent her scythe back at Azuma, who was still trapped in Erza's chain. This time he was unable to dodge as the blade gouged a deep cut into his chest. Azuma made a strangled sound, then collapsed, blood spraying everywhere.

Erza pulled on her chain, bringing both ends back to her, and she took the time to wipe off as much blood as she could before leaping Back into battle. Less than six nobles remained. Jellal had wiped most of the weaker ones out while Erza dealt with Azuma. The last of the guards had fallen. As Erza clashed blades with another high powered noble, now holding on to the shorter handle of her scythe so she could use it close range, she surveyed the scene.

It was total carnage. There were bodies and blood everywhere. If Erza hadn't known that none of the Reapers there were actually dead she would have thought this was sight of a massacre. There was so blood everywhere, though most of it had leaked from smaller wounds. Erza glanced back up at The Grim, who was doing a very poor job of concealing his concern. Erza smirked.

"Surrender now," Jellal called at him, taking down yet another noble. Only four were left standing now. "And we will petition the rest of the nobles to spare your life after your confession.

"I will do no such thing! I am guilty of nothing!" The Grim replied furiously. "What are you morons doing? CUT THEM DOWN!"

Erza and Jellal were both much the worse for wear. Erza couldn't put much weight on her right ankle, and Jellal had several freely bleeding injuries. They were both exhausted, but knew their fight was far from over. It would take both of them doing their absolute best to take down the Grim, and maybe even that wouldn't be enough. Now that the sounds of combat had died down a bit, Erza could hear the reinforcements banging on the door, trying to get it. This instilled a greater sense of urgency in Erza. While that door may be strong, it wouldn't hold up forever. Eventually those on the outside would find a way to break in.

The Grim needed to be dead or a captive by the time that happened.

The four remaining nobles were just as tired as Jellal and Erza were, and they went down with relative ease, being nowhere near as powerful. As the last noble fell at Erza's feet, the Grim screamed in rage and drew his weapon, two matching curved blades.

"It would appear that if you want something done you have to do it yourself!" The Grim cried.

That was when the real fight began.

It was like nothing Erza had ever experienced. If she thought she were fast she was nothing compared to the Grim, who became nothing more than a blur of blades and red silk as he spun at Erza first. She would have been dead at the first attack had Jellal not thrown his dagger at The Grim forcing him to dodge at the last second. Jellal leapt in, wielding his truncheons, and Erza took a step back, swinging her chain scythe around Jellal, attempting to hit the Grim. He easily dodged all their attacks.

Jellal got the distinct impression that the Grim was playing with them. Maybe it was the smug smirk on his face, the way he seemed to be dancing more than fighting, or maybe it was the fact he said, "this is child's play." Whatever it was it was pissing Jellal off.

This was the man that had sentenced him to death to keep his dirty little secret. This was the man that had mislead an entire country into believing he was a benevolent and worthy ruler when what he really was was a cold and calculating murderer who manipulated everyone he ever met. Jellal could not allow a man like that to sit on the throne for a moment longer. If it cost him his life he intended to take this despicable man down.

Jellal ducked and dodged as he pleased, not concerned with the deadly blade that was whizzing by him, sometimes only missing him by inches. He had never seen erza use her chain scythe, he hadn't even known that it existed, but he knew that she knew his movements well enough to avoid injuring him.

They were both putting forth their best effort, fighting violently despite being badly injured, but it didn't seem to be enough. The Grim still didn't seem to be putting forth his best effort, and Jellal was beginning to get dizzy, probably from blood loss. He misstepped, and the Grim's blade sunk into his shoulder. Jellal screamed in pain and stumbled back. Erza tucked her scythe blade back into her belt and pulled out the bare handle of her scythe, now using it like a staff. She blocked the next attack, one that would have killed Jellal if it had connected, and began to move faster than she'd ever moved in her life, swinging and twirling and spinning, her rage at almost losing Jellal giving her strength even further.

At last the confident smirk fell from the Grim's face as the bottom of Erza's improvised staff collided with his nose. She'd been aiming to crush his skull, but he'd dodged at the last second. Not enough, however, as blood began pouring from his nostrils.

"Damn you, arrogant child! You really think that you can defeat me? The man who has lived and fought for centuries?!"

"I think I can't afford to lose!" Erza cried. "I have people relying on me to win, people who don't even know that their fate will be sealed into an Eternal Darkness if I fall!"

Behind her she heard Jellal groaning, and was relieved that he hadn't yet succumbed to his injuries. She'd made him pack a healing salve, and she hoped he was using it now, but she couldn't afford to take a moment to look.

"You really think you can stop the inevitable?" The Grim taunted, and Erza felt a light go off in her head. The Grim was getting cocky, he believed everyone around him to be dead or unconscious, so it might be possible to get him to admit to something in front of the nobles.

"I refuse to submit to a killer like you!" Erza cried, dodging the Grim's attack by a hair's breadth, The sword ripped her cloak and shirt, but only grazed her skin. The initial adrenaline boost from watching the man she loved almost die was beginning to wear off, and fatigue was starting to set in. She knew she wouldn't be able to last in this fight much longer. She only hope that Jellal would recover enough in time to help her, or replace her, depending on when he was able to step in.

It was becoming increasingly obvious that Erza and Jellal wouldn't be able to win this fight on their own, when it happened. Just as Erza dodged an attack from the Grim, putting too much weight on it in the process and collapsing, the windows behind the throne seemed to explode.

A voice called through the commotion. A wonderfully, gloriously, familiar voice.

"Don't worry 'majesty!" Natsu called, landing not ten feet from where the Grim was hovering over Erza, ready to deal a killing blow. "I'll save y- wait what?"

"Natsu do you trust me?" Erza cried out, scrambling away from the Grim, with none of her usual grace.

"I-uh… what?" Lucy and Gray crashed through the other window, and were looking confused as well.

"What the hell?" Gray said.

"Oh my gosh! Erza, are you alright?" Lucy rushed to her side, ignoring the carnage all around her. She had eyes only for her fallen friend.

"Unhand the traitor!" The Grim commanded her as Lucy helped Erza to her feet.

"Traitor?" Lucy repeated, looking from the Grim and his bloody nose to the blood covered Erza. "Erza what's he talking about?"

"Jellal and I did this. We're trying to kill the Grim."

"What?!" Her three friends cried out together. "Why?" Lucy asked.

"Jellal was framed. He killed the Prince, yes, but he caught the Prince red handed, killing another Reaper. Jellal was only trying to protect the citizens. The Grim's been covering it up, he's corrupt."

"Are you sure?" Lucy said.

"That's crazy Erza, Jellal's got you brainwashed!" Gray exclaimed.

"For once I agree with the stripper!" Natsu said.

"Shut up!" Gray retorted.

"I haven't brainwashed anyone," Jellal grumbled, struggling to his feet using his staff for support. "It's the truth."

"Not likely," Natsu said. "Erza's no traitor, but she's always had a soft spot for you. You tricked her into this."

"I haven't been tricked, Natsu," Erza said. "Lucy, you're a smart girl. Tell me, don't you think it's strange how many cases of Afterlife Sickness there has been recently? Isn't claiming that someone died of it the perfect way to cover up a murder?" Lucy nodded slowly.

"It's true, that would be a good way to do it, and it is strange how many people have been dying of it."

"That's enough!" The Grim shouted suddenly. He strode forward and grabbed Lucy by the hair, casting her to the side. "Out of my way while I finish this traitor!" Natsu and Gray cried out in indignation as the King manhandled Lucy, they both took steps forward, but no one reacted faster than Lucy herself. As the Grim raised one of his curved swords high into the air to kill Erza, something long and leather wrapped around it and ripped it from the Grim's unsuspecting hands. The entire room watched in awed silence as the sword flew through the air and landed squarely in Lucy's outstretched hand. In her other hand was her whip, and her face bore a look of fierce determination and rage.

"I don't know if what Jellal is saying is true, but I trust Erza, and I'm not going to let you kill her!" A shocked silence ensued for several moments as everyone in the room stared at Lucy in shock. It was Natsu that broke the silence.

"Well, I guess that settles it then," he said, then leapt into battle. He struck his two gloves together, igniting his specialty fire gloves, and began attacking the Grim with everything he had. "I dunno if you're a murderer, but I'm gonna trust Erza when she say's you're corrupt!" Gray shrugged and jumped into battle as well, pulling out his nearly translucent blades. Those were the reason that Gray was known as the Ice Make Reaper, because his blades looked like they were made of Ice. Lucy cast the Grim's sword away and struck with her whip, clearly attempting to knock his other weapon in his hand. The Grim seized the whip and yanked it from Lucy's grasp.

She cried out in surprise, but recovered quickly. She drew two of her smaller daggers from the ring on her belt. Lucy called them her 'keys' and each was engraved with a different Zodiac or constellation. Lucy preferred fighting with her whip, but she was nearly unstoppable with her 'keys' in hand.

Erza looked over at Jellal and smiled, then leapt into battle. Jellal followed suit, and though the two supposed traitors were badly wounded and couldn't fight at the same level as the others, they were determined to help their new allies win this fight.

The Grim lunged at Lucy, Jellal blocked, and Natsu attacked. The Grim dodged this attack, but cried out when he didn't see Gray's translucent blade swinging for him. The blade bit into his arm, drawing blood, but not causing a mortal or even serious injury. The Grim slashed a Gray next with his remaining sword, but Natsu landed a punch on his face that set him stumbling. Erza threw her weighted chain and caught the Grim around the ankles, pulling him off his feet. The Grim wasn't down for long, however.

"You fools!" He cried, "You think it matters that you've discovered the truth? No one will ever believe that their precious Grim is a killer!"

Erza felt a wave of triumph wash over her, and she knew that even if she died, they had won this fight. The grim had just confessed in front of some of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom.

"So it's true!" Natsu cried, horrified.

"That's right!" The Grim hissed. "And none of you will live past today to see it!" He turned and smashed Lucy in the face with the pommel of his sword, knocking her back several feet.

"Lucy!" They all cried. "You're going to pay for that, murderer!" Natsu added. Natsu launched himself at the Grim, eyes glowing with rage. "No one hurts Lucy and gets away with it!"

While Natsu attacked from the front, Erza struck from behind. She swung her chain scythe so quickly that it was a mere blur of dark gray. As Natsu's flaming fist struck The Grim's face, blood sprayed from his back, and Erza sighed in relief. It was over. The paralytic on her scythe would take down even the Grim. It was her own unique mix, and there was no way the Grim could have built up a tolerance to it.

Erza sank to her knees as the Grim hit the floor, defeated at last.

There was no disputing it, really. The Grim had admitted to his crimes in a room full of aware but imobile nobles. He was convicted and sentenced to death. The nobles elected a regent, an old friend of Erza's that everyone loved called Makarov, and he was working on making the kingdom a democracy, just like Jellal had wanted.

Natsu, Lucy, and Gray were wounded in their battle with the Grim, but they were up and harassing the still bed bound Erza and Jellal, claiming to be celebrating Jellal's pardoning. Erza and Jellal were not able to attend the execution, the court physician Porlyusica strictly forbidding them from moving at all. They did however persuade her to let them hear Makarov's inauguration speech. The most notable line from it being "It's time to reforge the kingdom to make it a better place for our children!"

The night of the speech Erza was sitting awake long after Porlyusica commanded she and Jellal sleep, and it seemed that Jellal had been unable to sleep as well.

"It's hard to believe it's finally over," he said. "I know that the entire ordeal, from my banishment to the battle in the throne room wasn't really that long, but it felt like years."

"I only spent a few days planning that rebellion, yet I feel like I've aged years." Jellal chuckled. He stood and walked the few paces between their two beds, then sat down next to Erza. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. They sat shoulder to shoulder for a few silent seconds before Erza spoke again.

"That chapter of our lives may be over, but another one, a longer one, is only beginning. I can't imagine that it'll be easy to convert our kingdom into anything but the monarchy we have now."

"You're right," Jellal said, "but right now we should just enjoy the downtime until the next trails start." Erza nodded in agreement.

The moonlight shined down on her scarlet hair, the hair that Jellal loved so much, in the most beautiful way. Without thinking he buried his fingers in it, and Erza smiled. She reached up and did the same to him. There were a few more quiet moments in which they exchanged a long look and seemed to come to a silent agreement, then they leaned in and sealed it with a kiss.

No matter what else came at them, they would do it together.

X x x

 _The Grim wasn't responsible for building the kingdom at all. He seized it from the reigning King, the true Grim Reaper. The Grim sitting on the throne now was nothing more than a low ranking noble in the beginning of his life. The imposter was filled with a ruthless ambition, one that cared not for the people he hurt in his quest for power. He started a rebellion, and he fought his way into the throne room and killed the King. He then killed the entire royal family, and threatened the same fate to anyone that ever contested him. It only took a century for anyone that knew he was not the original emperor of the kingdom to die, and then the world was his._


End file.
